KITTERY, Maine — The U.S. District Attorney’s Office District of Maine sent out a press release Tuesday night, after a Massachusetts man pleaded guilty this past April to illegally purchasing firearms from a Kittery storefront in January 2020.
U.S. District Judge Nancy Torrensen sentenced Antoine Montrond, 23, of Brockton, Massachusetts, to a year and a day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pleaded guilty on, April 26, 2023.
In January 2020, Montrond and a co-conspirator used a "straw purchaser" to buy two firearms from a store in Kittery, according to the release. The purchaser reportedly falsified that they were the true purchaser of the guns, when in fact they were buying them for Montrond and his co-conspirator.
"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," the release clarified.
Police recovered one of the firearms, a Glock Model 23 .40 caliber pistol in May 2020, from Montrond, during a traffic stop, according to the release. Law enforcement said Montrond’s co-conspirators succeeded in illegally 'straw purchasing' seven firearms and were previously sentenced by Judge Torresen for their part.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
This case is also part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, which is a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and their communities to help reduce violent crime and gun violence, according to the release.
To learn more information about Project Safe Neighborhood, visit www.justice.gov/psn.
