A Philadelphia man was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison for unlawfully purchasing and selling 20 weapons, several of which were later discovered at crime scenes across the region.
Jawone Shakour Williams, 33, pled guilty Monday before Bucks County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley to 59 felony counts, including dealing in the proceeds of illicit operations, making false representations on firearm purchase forms, illegal firearm sales, and sales to ineligible transferees.
Williams was caught in 2024 after a multi-agency investigation into a three-year gun trafficking operation. Investigators discovered that from July 2019 to March 2022, he purchased 20 handguns from licensed dealers in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware, and Lehigh counties. Nineteen of the acquisitions happened between June 2021 and March 2022.
Throughout each purchase, Williams falsely said that the firearms were for personal use. Authorities later discovered numerous of the guns at Philadelphia crime scenes, during traffic stops, and in the aftermath of killings. Others were discovered in a stolen vehicle and buried in the snow in the Poconos.
Williams’ cellphone data and emails tied him to several handgun purchases and internet transactions.
The Bucks County Detectives, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office Gun Violence Task Force, and other law enforcement partners conducted the investigation, while the Philadelphia Police Department, the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department, and the Upper Darby Township Police Department recovered firearms.
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