Woman Faces 20 Years In Prison For Illegal Gun Buys In Philly Region

PHILADELPHIA REGION, PA — A 31-year-old Delaware County woman faces between eight and 20 years in prison for illegally buying four firearms in Bucks and Montgomery counties, with one of them later used in a Philadelphia homicide, authorities said.

Demia Burell-Brinkley, 31, of Lansdowne, was sentenced Thursday in a straw purchase scheme that put deadly weapons on the streets, the Bucks County District Attorney's Office said.

She pleaded guilty in March to four counts each 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.

In addition to the state prison sentence, Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley also ordered her not to possess any firearms or ammunition.

From July 2020 to May 2022, Burell-Brinkley bought four firearms on three occasions, and sold them for $200 each.

In a July 28, 2020, purchase, Burrell-Brinkley bought a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber firearm at a gun store in Lafayette Hill, Montgomery County, authorities said.

Twenty-four days later, Philadelphia Police responded to a fatal shooting on the 1300 block of North 10th Street. A fired .40-caliber cartridge recovered at the scene was later matched through ballistics testing to the Smith & Wesson firearm purchased by Burrell-Brinkley.

Two individuals found with the .40-caliber firearm in their possession were prohibited from legally owning firearms, authorities said.

Then on Feb. 6, 2021, Burrell-Brinkley purchased two Glock firearms from Auger Precision Firearms in Croydon.

Both firearms were later recovered in Philadelphia from individuals legally barred from possessing them. One of these Glock firearms was also linked to a separate shooting incident.

The fourth firearm was bought by Burrell-Brinkley on May 18, 2022, from a gun store in Norristown.

This firearm has not yet been recovered, authorities said. The investigation also determined that Burrell-Brinkley never reported any of the purchased firearms as stolen.