Delco Man Admits To Firearm Straw Purchases

UPPER DARBY, PA — A Delaware County man admitted to buying nearly two dozen guns to give to people barred from owning them, according to federal authorities.

Acting United States Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams said Nafez Hutchings, 22, of Upper Darby, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging 12 counts of providing false information to a federal firearms licensee.

Between June and August 2020, Hutchings fraudulently purchased 23 handguns over 12 separate transactions with several Federal Firearms Licensees (licensed gun stores) in Philadelphia, Montgomery, and Delaware counties, authorities said.

In each purchase, Hutchings falsely reported his address and declared on Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Form 4473 that he was the actual purchaser of the firearms, when in reality it was not his intention to keep possession of the weapon, according to authorities.

Before his arrest, Hutchings admitted to ATF agents that he provided a false address and falsely certified on the ATF forms that he was buying the firearms, when in fact he was buying them on behalf of other individuals.

"Our Office is doing all we can to stem the tide of violent crime in Philadelphia, including indicting and prosecuting criminals who possess firearms when they’re prohibited by law from doing so. But the efforts of law enforcement to keep guns out of the wrong hands are thwarted every time someone straw purchases a weapon like this defendant did, 23 times over," Williams said. "Make no mistake — If you knowingly buy a handgun for someone else who cannot legally purchase one, and they use it to commit a crime, it is no better than if you had fired that gun yourself. And that is exactly how you will be treated by the federal authorities."