'Straw Gun' Buyer In Bucks Co. Faces 20 Years In Prison

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA — A man faces up to 20 years in prison for straw gun purchases in Bucks County and Philadelphia, authorities said.

Steven Lee Smith, 30, of Philadelphia, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 to 20 years in state prison for charges related to the straw gun purchases, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office.

Smith is alleged to have purchased nine handguns between July 6, 2022, and Jan. 25, 2023.

Six were purchased at a gun store in Croydon, Bristol Township. Smith attempted to buy a 10th gun in Allegheny County in March 2023, but the purchase was never completed, authorities said.

"Straw purchases" are illegal firearms transactions where a person with a clean criminal background buys firearms for someone who is legally prohibited from doing so.

Smith was convicted in April on four counts each of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, penalties for the sale of firearms, sales to ineligible transferees, providing materially false written statements for firearm purchases, and statements under penalty.

An investigation revealed that Smith engaged in a series of transactions where he acted as an intermediary to illegally purchase firearms on behalf of individuals prohibited from owning them.

The investigation found that Smith purchased firearms from federally licensed dealers and then illegally transferred them to others.

This included instances where Smith completed a federal ATF form that falsely indicated he was the actual buyer, when in fact he was acquiring the firearms for other individuals.

Police recovered four of those weapons. Two of the guns were recovered during arrests of people barred from purchasing firearms due to previous criminal convictions. Upon recovery, the guns were found to have obliterated serial numbers.

During sentencing, prosecutors said that Smith was fully aware of the dangers associated with the firearms he was selling.

In November 2021, Smith allegedly drove a man named Dymir Mitchell, who had sustained a gunshot wound, to the hospital in Philadelphia, authorities said.

Despite both men claiming they didn't know each other and that Smith had merely picked Mitchell up from the street, Smith later bought a firearm for Mitchell. That weapon was recovered approximately 61 days after its purchase. As a convicted felon, Mitchell was a person not allowed to possess a firearm, authorities said.