'Strawgun Purchaser' Faces 25 Years In Prison For Bucks Co. Buys

MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — A Delaware County man who illegally bought 14 firearms in Bucks County, some later used in violent crimes, will now face up to 25 years in prison, authorities said.

Tahir Zahir, 30, of Sharon Hill, was sentenced to 12 to 25 years in state prison on Monday with another two years of probation, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

He was charged in December 2024 for his role as a "straw purchaser," which involves buying a firearm for someone legally prohibited from owning one.

For nearly five years, Zahir bought 14 firearms at gun stores across Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, authorities said.

The purchases between Aug. 8, 2018, and June 23, 2023 included six firearms bought at Auger Precision Firearms in Croydon and one from The Bunker Gun Shop II in Chalfont.

Detectives said Zahir exhibited indicators of being a straw gun purchaser, including buying a large number of guns in a short time frame, and buying the same exact firearm on several occasions.

Five firearms were recovered and linked directly to shootings and other criminal activity in Philadelphia. One firearm was used in Philadelphia on March 31, 2020, murder, authorities said.

Authorities said Zahir purchased that specific gun 41 days before the killing and reported it stolen 42 days after the crime occurred. Another recovered weapon was found in the possession of a known Philadelphia gang member, authorities said.

Zahir pleaded guilty in August to felony charges of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, making false statements on firearm purchase forms, unlawful sales of firearms, sales to an ineligible transferee, firearm ownership — duty of other persons, and criminal conspiracy, authorities said.