Man Faces 180 Charges For Buying Guns In Bucks, Montco: Court Records

BUCKS COUNTY, PA —A firearms investigation by Bucks County, state, and regional authorities has led to 180 charges against a Philadelphia man for his purchase of 20 guns over three years, court records state.

Jawone Shakour Williams, 32, of Philadelphia, was arrested last week after an investigation by Bucks County Detectives, the state Attorney General’s Office, and regional law enforcement, a criminal complaint obtained by Patch states.

Williams was preliminarily arraigned before District Judge Frank Peranteau. He is being held on 10 percent of $500,000 bail.

Williams purchased firearms from licensed dealers across Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware, and Lehigh counties between July 2019 and May 2022, the criminal complaint states.

Thirteen gun purchases were made in Bucks County, including at shops in Bristol Township and Morrisville Borough.

Williams was allegedly reselling the guns illegally as a “straw purchase,” investigators said in the criminal complaint.

A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.

A detective from the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office initiated the investigation in October 2023 after discovering that six firearms purchased by Williams —who authorities said had no previous criminal record —were recovered by local law enforcement, states the complaint, which lists each of the 180 charges.

Some handguns were found during Philadelphia police investigations, including car stops and after shootings that injured men on North Braddock Street and West Tioga Street in Philadelphia.

Other guns were discovered in a stolen vehicle and buried in the snow in the Poconos, the complaint states.

In October 2022, the Philadelphia Police Department’s SWAT team executed search warrants across Philadelphia, discovering a firearm linked to Williams at a residence where suspected drugs were also found, authorities said in the complaint.

Investigators also contacted five private sellers and discovered additional attempts by Williams to purchase guns, with one seller providing email evidence linking Williams to an online gun sales platform, the complaint said.

Williams told investigators that he bought the guns for personal use. No firearms involved in the investigation were reported as stolen or transferred, court records state.