Illegal Gun Sales Send Delco Woman To Prison

A Delaware County woman will see prison time after pleading guilty to seven felony counts of selling firearms to people not permitted to possess firearms, court records show.

Vikki Towns-Perez, 36, of Chester, pleaded guilty to six counts of second degree felony illegal gun sales, as well as one count of a slightly different illegal gun sale charge, records show.

The plea means Towns-Perez will serve five to 10 years prison time.

Towns-Perez was accused of buying nine handguns between February 2012 and May 2013 for her nephew, who she knew to be a convicted felon, the Delaware County District Attorney's office said.

She allegedly purchased guns described by her nephew, who would give her cash to buy guns and pay her $150 to $200 for each purchase, the DA's office said.

Authorities said five of the nine straw purchase guns have been recovered by police and all five were used in felony crimes. Four people were arrested in connection with the straw purchase guns, the DA's office said.

Of the nine guns that were straw purchased, five have been recovered by authorities, all of which were
used in felony crimes, the DA's office said.

"We know that the vast majority of the illegal guns on the streets used for violence and crime are a result of
straw purchases," Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said Wednesday. "In the case of Vikki Towns-Perez, she purchased these guns without any regard for the law, knowingly giving them to an individual she believed to be a criminal."

Images via Delaware County District Attorney's Office