ATF agent on dangers of straw purchasers: "They are on the same level as the actual trigger pullers"
ST. PAUL, Minn. — The man who shot and killed three Burnsville first responders got at least one of the guns through what's called a straw purchase. That's when someone buys a gun for a person who is barred from owning one.
WCCO broke the development in late February. What's called an AR-15 lower receiver, was bought at The Modern Sportsman in Burnsville in January. The store says they had no way of knowing it was being purchased for someone else.
Senior Investigative Reporter Jennifer Mayerle talked with Travis Riddle, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF St. Paul Field Division, about the dangers of straw purchases and the consequences.
"For the background check, there's actually a section that says, are you going to be the possessor of this gun and they say yes with the full intention knowing that firearm is not going to be for them," Riddle said.
Riddle says who the buyer is can vary.
"You may be looking at family members, friends, work associates, domestic partners," Riddle said.
And there's a danger that comes with a straw purchase.
"The biggest concern for ATF, is typically the firearms that are straw purchased, are going to be put in the hands of potentially violent criminals," Riddle said.
Once a straw purchase is suspected, a trace is started. The information on the gun goes into an eTrace database, used only by law enforcement. That trace allows agents to follow a gun from manufacturer to distributor, then to a store where it was sold, known as a Federal Firearms Licensee, or FFL. The store keeps the paperwork a buyer fills out.
"At that point, we'll reach out to the FFL and ask them what was the initial purchaser for that weapon. We can make contact with the purchaser just to make an inquiry. Do you still, are you still in possession of it? Oftentimes what we find out is the firearm was sold, a private sale or, you know, the firearm was stolen out of their vehicle. Sometimes we find out that that gun was actually strawed in a straw purchase," Riddle said.
Paperwork is vital in an investigation. Time is also critical.
"Some of the consistent things that we look for is going to be a short time to crime. A firearm that was purchased and then recovered very quickly at the scene of a crime. Typically any short amount of time is definitely going to be a red flag," Riddle said.
Riddle warns straw purchasing has heavy consequences, up to 15 years for the felony, and for some offenses up to 25 years.
"When you talk about it being a priority to reduce gun violence, where do straw purchasers play into that, that goal of reducing gun violence?" Mayerle asked.
"They are on the same level as the actual trigger pullers. Trigger pullers do not have firearms unless someone's providing them those firearms," Riddle said.
At least eight people have gone to prison for straw purchasing in Minnesota in the last two years. Their punishments range from two to five years behind bars.