Philly Man Charged with 178 Felonies for Firearm Straw Purchases; Nine Recovered by Police Authorities Say

A Philadelphia man sits in Bucks County Correctional Facility charged with 178 felony counts of illegal gun purchases with weapons sold to him recovered by police in  Philadelphia, Upper Darby and in Ashland Borough, 100 miles away from the Justice Center which is where Bucks County Detectives launched the investigation into Jawone Shakour Williams, 32 of Philadelphia.

Judge Frank W. Peranteau Sr. arraigned Williams Thursday afternoon on the 18o felony count probable cause remanding him to Bucks County Correctional Facility on 10 percent of $500,000.00.

According to the 37-page probable cause narrative filed by Bucks County Detective Jeff Jumper who serves on gun violence task force and Special Investigator from Eric Frye, from the state Attorney General’s office, Williams purchased twenty (20) firearms from various licensed dealers in Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Delaware and Lehigh Counties between  July of 2019 and  May of  2022. 13  of those were purchased in Bucks, with 10 purchased from  Johnston’s Sporting Goods, 715 State Road, Croydon, two from MEGA Pawn,  334-336 W. Bridge Street, Morrisville, PA , and one from Classic Pistol, 1310  Industrial Boulevard, Southampton. 

A report generated by investigators last October initially revealed six of the 20 guns purchased by Williams were recovered by police in jurisdictions outside of Bucks County with the weapons connected to shooting and drug investigations. Based upon the discovery of the recovered firearms made by police and other criminal indicators, an investigation into the suspected “straw purchase” of firearms committed by Williams was opened, the probable cause says.

On February 8, 2024 Detective Jumper was contacted by Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General, S.A. Eric Frye, regarding another firearm recovery belonging to Williams, that was recovered by the Ashland Borough Police on January 31, of this year bringing the total of firearm recoveries to nine.

Firearm Purchases & Recoveries *

On July 14, 2019, the suspect purchased the following handgun at Double Action. located at 611 Industrial Park, Yeadon, PA 19050, Delaware
County. Sig Sauer Model P320, 40ea1, semi-automatic pistol . The gun was recovered on February 7 2022 by Philadelphia Police after a car stop, court records show.

On June 24, 2021, Williams  purchased a  Glock Model 17, 9MM, semi-automatic pistol at Founding Father’s Outfitters , located at 9280 Ridge Pike, Lafayette Hill, PA 19444, Montgomery County, through a private party transfer.  On July 6, 2021, Philadelphia Police Officer ‘s observed a 2010 Grey Honda Accord with RA, Temp Tag : 3501-097 with an expiration date of 7-2-21, parked outside of residence 2847 Amber St, with the engine running, dark tinted windows, and unoccupied. Police then opened the door to process the vehicle and recovered the Glock 17 days after it was purchased.  Police were able to determine car was stolen  A primary indicator an individual is conducting straw purchases, wrote investigators in court records is the time lapse between purchase and recover.

Credit – Sportsman Warehouse

On November 4, 2021, Williams purchased a  Glock Model G30S, ;45 Cal, semi-automatic pistol handgun at Johnstons Sporting Goods LLC., 715 State Road, in Croydon. Glock Model G30S, ;45 Cal, semi-automatic. On April 14, 2022, at approximately 5:25 pm, Philadelphia Police Officers responded to the area of 3400 North Braddock Street for the report of a shooting.  Upon their arrival, they located several damaged vehicles a result of an apparent car accident, 10 9mm fired cartridge casings, a .45 caliber Glock handgun, and a black 223 assault rifle. As police were approaching the crime scene, they were flagged down by a pedestrian who stated that there were three males in the alleyway between the houses on the 3300 hundred block of Braddock Street. Officer approached the alleyway and located three males. One of the males, later identified as G.R., suffering from a single gunshot wound to the left shoulder and. back. He was transported to Temple ER and treated for his injuries. The firearm was swabbed for DNA and placed on the property receipt.

On November 15, 2021 Williams purchased  a FN Model Five-Seven, 5.7×28, semi-automatic pistol  from Johnstons Kayton Company, 1045 Grape Street, Whitehall, PA 18052, Lehigh County, through a private party transfer. On February 4, 2022, the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department recovered the FN Model Five-Seven bearing the same serial number. It was found on the side buried under snow and turned in by a citizen.
On January 4, of this year investigators called Williams who confirmed he did own guns and agreed to several meetings he never attended, court records allege. Investigators located a cousin  in custody. Both men listed the same home as their address.  The cousin admitted to buying a handgun for another cousin which is a straw purchase, detectives noted in court records.

On February 19, 2024, investigators searched through Record of Sale and ATF 4473 and located two phone numbers Williams listed unknown to investigators during the time at which two gun purchases were made. A search warrant for cellular phone records were provided by T Mobile and an analysis was conducted. Due to record retention periods stretching beyond T Mobile,  two of the twenty firearm purchases made by Williams were captured by police and analyzed using the location data provided by T Mobile identifying Classic Pistol (Southampton, PA) and Johnston Sporting Goods (Croydon, PA), court records allege./

In April, detectives were able to confirm Williams’ place of employment, however, the employee said the suspect hadn’t worked since November of 2023. Williams in conversations with police said he could not talk because he was at work.  Investigators contacted five private sellers seeking information on firearm sales to Williams and discovering one. That seller provided e-mail information which led police to discover a website in which dealers sell guns. Subsequent to a search warrant, the site provided subscriber information and a catalogue of message exchanges. The exchanges, police said, showed an urgency on Williams’ part to try and purchase additional firearms even though he owned 20, according to records police had obtained, noting he often tried to negotiate lower purchase prices from sellers.

To date, none of the twenty firearms purchased by Williams have been reported stolen or transfered. Williams indicated, on the Applications/Record of Sale, for every  gun purchased the firearm for himself and not another individual, according to court papers.

Williams has been charged with the following 20 counts each of;  dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, materially false written statement – purchase, delivery, transfer of firearm; Conspiracy – Materially false written statement – purchase, delivery, transfer of firearm , Penalties – Sales of Firearms, Conspiracy – Penalties – Sales of Firearms, Firearm Ownership – Duty Of Other Person, Conspiracy – Firearm Ownership – Duty Of Other, Penalties – Sales to Ineligible Transferee, Conspiracy – Penalties and two firearm purchase related misdemeanors.

He is currently scheduled to answer to the charges on October 16 in Bristol Borough District Court.

Editor’s Note: There were gun purchases and recoveries that were omitted from this report but are fully elaborated on by authorities in the probable cause here.