A Delaware County woman was sentenced to nearly six to 12 years in jail in the first use of a new Pennsylvania law inspired by a police officer who was killed in the line of duty.
Staci Dawson, 22, of Chester, was sentenced Wednesday in Delaware County Court on a conviction for the straw purchase of two guns for her boyfriend, a felon who was later shot and killed. A straw purchase involves guns bought for someone who can’t pass a background check or who doesn’t want a gun registered in their name.
Prosecutors said she is the first person to receive a five-year mandatory minimum under the law enacted last year after Brad Fox, a Plymouth Township officer, was shot and killed in the line of duty by a man using a gun bought by someone else.
The Brad Fox Law restores the minimum five year sentence for anyone convicted of making repeat straw gun purchases in Pennsylvania.
Dawson bought a Kel-Tec 9mm model PF-9 handgun from a gun store in February and also purchased a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun.
In March, Dawson’s boyfriend David Colon was arrested on drug charges while his alleged accomplice Shamar Atkinson was arrested on weapons charges. Police say Atkinson was in possession of the same Smith and Wesson that Dawson purchased.
When Dawson was brought in for questioning, she initially told police she bought the guns for her own protection and believed Colon had stolen them from her. Upon further investigation however, police determined that Dawson purchased the guns for Colon and Atkinson.
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Dawson was arrested and found guilty on charges of conspiracy, making false reports to law enforcement and illegally selling or transferring firearms to another person.
“Reducing gun violence has been the number one priority of the Anti-Violence Task Force,” said District Attorney Jack Whelan. “We aggressively target straw purchases to reduce one of the methods convicted felons use to obtain firearms illegally. It is our hope that these prosecutions will discourage people from purchasing guns and placing them in the hands of dangerous criminals.”
Defense attorney Michael Malloy argued that his client had no criminal record, has a 3-year-old child and is participating in a medical-training program.
