Washington County Man Sentenced to Prison for Straw Purchasing Firearms

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A resident of Washington, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 24 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his convictions of false statements to a federally licensed firearms dealer, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines imposed the sentence on Keyshawn Savory, 25.

According to information presented to the Court, on four different occasions between April and August 2021, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Savory acted as a straw purchaser when buying firearms from several federally licensed firearms dealers by stating that the firearms were being purchased for himself, when he actually was purchasing the firearms on behalf of another person.

Assistant United States Attorney Maureen Sheehan-Balchon prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Savory.

This case was prosecuted under the new criminal provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which Congress enacted and the President signed in June 2022. The Act is the first federal statute specifically designed to target the unlawful trafficking and straw-purchasing of firearms.