Man Who Purchased More Than 7 Guns Under False Pretenses Sent to Federal Prison

A man who was a drug user and made false statements while purchasing firearms was sentenced August 14, 2023, to more than a year in federal prison.

Justin Evans, age 24, from Kansas City, Missouri, received the prison term after a January 25, 2023, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a drug user.

Evidence in the case showed between September 2020 and February 2022, Evans, while an unlawful user of marijuana, lied to Federal Firearms Licensee gun stores to purchase more than 7 guns that he subsequently resold on the illicit market.

Evans was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand to 18 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Evans is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 22-3013.

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