Kent man pleads guilty to buying, trafficking over 100 guns

KENT, Wash. — A Kent man has pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to buying more than 100 guns, with some of those guns ending up used in crimes.

In what’s known as “straw purchasing,” Dion Jamar Cooper pleaded guilty to buying guns, and then selling them to people legally not allowed to possess a firearm.

“It is not surprising that more than two dozen of the firearms have been linked to crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman.

The investigation started in January 2023 when robbers assaulted and tried to rob a woman in Seattle’s Rainier Valley. Police found a gun her car that was dropped by one of the suspects.

A background check of the firearm showed that it was bought by Cooper a few weeks before. A deeper dive into Cooper’s background showed he bought 107 firearms since June 2021.

Of those 107 firearms, 26 of the recovered guns are linked to crimes.

Agents began tracking 31-year old Cooper as he kept buying firearms and storing them at his house.

Cooper pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements in connection with acquiring the firearms, one count of straw purchasing firearms and one count of trafficking in firearms.

He faces up to 15 years in prison for the straw purchasing and trafficking charges, and up to 10 years in the firearms acquisition charge.

Cooper is scheduled to be sentenced on May 17, 2024.

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