Erie Woman Sentenced for Buying Firearms for a Prohibited Person

ERIE, Pa. - A resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to one year probation on her conviction of violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney Cindy K. Chung announced today.
Senior United States District Judge David S. Cercone imposed the sentence on Kathryn Nicole Shaw, 25.

According to information presented to the court, from March 9, 2020, to July 21, 2020, Shaw conspired with two co-defendants to violate federal straw purchase laws and acquired firearms for a co-defendant who was prohibited from possessing firearms based on prior criminal convictions.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Assistant United States Attorney Paul S. Sellers prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

United States Attorney Chung commended the Pennsylvania State Police, Conewango Police Department, and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Shaw.