Monongahela Man Will Serve 6 Months At Renewal Center For Straw Purchasing Shotgun

PITTSBURGH - A resident of Monongahela, Pa., was sentenced to serve time in federal custody for violating federal firearms laws, United States Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

Ronald DeGrange, 47, was sentenced by United States District Judge Donetta W. Ambrose to serve six months in the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons at the Renewal Center in Pittsburgh, followed by two years of supervised release which includes a six-month term of home detention. DeGrange was convicted of providing false information to a federal firearms licensee by indicating that he was the actual buyer of a Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun with a pistol grip when he was actually acting on behalf of someone else and by indicating that he was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance when he, in fact, was. DeGrange bought the firearm for an acquaintance who was a convicted felon and who was addicted to a controlled substance and could not lawfully purchase or possess firearms. DeGrange straw purchased firearms for that person three times and also sold the person a Colt AR-15 semi-automatic rifle on another occasion.

Assistant United States Attorney Craig W. Haller prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Pennsylvania State Police investigated this case. This case was prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent, deter, and prosecute gun crime.