Tuscaloosa Suspects Enter Guilty Pleas For Illegal Gun Purchases

TUSCALOOSA, AL — The U.S. Attorney's Office says three defendants charged in a scheme to “straw purchase” firearms in Tuscaloosa — one of which was used in a murder — had their appearances in federal court this week, where two entered guilty pleas.

Click here to subscribe to our free Tuscaloosa Daily newsletter and breaking news alert

Tuscaloosa resident Michael Tiree Coleman, 24, pleaded guilty on Thursday to giving a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. He is set for sentencing on March 22, 2022 and could face up to 10 years in prison if found guilty.

In October, Boston natives Dayquan A. Haley, 23, and Darius Marquise Collins, 25, were arrested in Massachusetts on charges of conspiracy to falsify information on firearm acquisition records in separate, but related indictments in Alabama. If found guilty on those charges, they could each face up to five years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona said Haley and Collins were arraigned Wednesday afternoon.

Court documents say the ATF Birmingham Field Division received a referral from the federal agency's Crime Gun Intelligence Center concerning multiple firearms purchased from Three Factors Unlimited, Inc. in Tuscaloosa. At the time, prosecutors say it was doing business as Wade’s Jewelry and Pawn.

Investigators found that between November 2019 and March 2021, Demarcus Montez WalkerJeremy Bernard Brown and Coleman purchased approximately 42 handguns from Wade’s Jewelry and Pawn.

What's more, Coleman bought three guns from Blue Bore Armory in Demopolis.

Prosectors argue that, during this time, Haley and Collins partnered with Walker, Brown, and Coleman, who were permitted to buy guns from licensed dealers in Alabama.

Haley and Collins — residents of Massachusetts — could not buy handguns from licensed dealers in Alabama and legally take them back to Massachusetts. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the straw purchasers falsified documents by stating that they were the actual buyers when in fact they were buying the firearms for Haley and Collins. Haley and Collins provided the money for the straw purchasers to buy firearms and also paid them for doing it.

In March 2020, a South Carolina traffic stop resulted in Haley being found in possession of several firearms, 14 of which were purchased by Walker from Wade’s Jewelry and Pawn. Prosecutors added that several of the other firearms that Walker purchased were later recovered by law enforcement in Boston.

It's also important to point out that one of the firearms purchased by Walker in Alabama on Nov. 18, 2019, was used in a homicide in Boston on April 15, 2020.

The U.S. Attorney's Office went on to say that, on July 20, 2020, police encountered Collins and Haley at the E&Z Event Center in Uniontown, where they were found to be in possession of multiple guns that had been purchased by Brown from Wade’s Jewelry and Pawn in July 2020.

Brown, 30, of Tuscaloosa, pleaded guilty in August to giving a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and is set for sentencing on May 24, 2022.

Walker, 25, also of Tuscaloosa, entered a guilty plea to the same charge as Brown and will see his sentence handed down on the same day as his accomplice.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com