North Texas man pleads guilty to selling firearms without a license in violation of federal law
.jpg "A North Texas man pleaded guilty to a federal firearm crime in court Tuesday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. He now faces up to five years in prison.")
A Lancaster man faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty in federal court Tuesday to dealing in firearms without a license, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Armani Morris, 22, received a cease and desist letter explaining firearms laws from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in December 2021, officials said. In spite of this, he continued to buy and sell firearms for a profit without a license. According to the release, Morris admitted to selling 52 guns between 2021 and 2022.
Morris was arrested after an undercover gun buy in July. Officials said undercover agents purchased seven firearms from Morris on four different occasions during the summer. Among the firearms were two AR-type pistols and a Glock 9 mm pistol with a Glock switch that turned the pistol into an automatic machine gun.
Federal law says that anyone engaged in buying and selling firearms for profit needs to obtain a license and run background checks on potential buyers.
“Subverting these laws allows guns to fall into the wrong hands, endangering the public,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton in the release. “Despite being warned that his conduct was unlawful, this defendant brazenly continued selling to anyone who would buy. Let there be no mistake: The Justice Department will aggressively pursue anyone who flouts federal firearm laws.”
