Levittown Man Sold Guns Illegally For More Than A Decade: AG

BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A 62-year-old Croydon man was found guilty of illegally purchasing and distributing firearms for more than a decade, the state Attorney General said Friday.

Frederick Cornelius Brown, Jr., 62, of Croydon, was convicted this week in Bucks County Court of 34 counts of illegal firearms transfer and knowingly falsifying documents regarding handgun purchases, Attorney General Michelle Henry said.

The charges stem from the purchase of 17 firearms Brown acquired and then disposed of dating back to 2011, authorities said.

None of those guns were ever reported lost or stolen and none were lawfully transferred to another person. At least three of the guns were recovered from other people during criminal investigations.

“Far too often, straw-purchased guns end up in the hands of dangerous criminals who have committed crimes that prevent them from legally owning a firearm,” Attorney General Henry said. “Straw purchases fuel the gun violence that plagues too many of our communities."

Brown’s trial began on Monday in front of Judge Jeffrey Finley in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas. Following conviction, Brown was sent to the Bucks County Correctional Facility to await sentencing.

Many of the firearms purchases were Taurus G2C, 9mm pistols —a weapon frequently subject to illegal firearm trafficking due to its cost and availability.

Authorities said Brown’s firearm purchases were all “straw purchases,” meaning a person with a clean background purchased firearms specifically on behalf of another person to conceal the true owner of the firearm.

The true owner of the firearm is often prohibited from legally purchasing a firearm including convicted felons, domestic violence offenders, juveniles, and individuals with mental illness, authorities said.

The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force worked with the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Bucks County District Attorney's Office on the case.