A 29-year-old man was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in state prison for the straw purchase of 23 firearms, including eight that were recovered during criminal investigations in Philadelphia the Bucks County District Attorney’s office announced last week.
Darryl Kaheim Baker, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty Monday before Common Pleas Judge Wallace H. Bateman to 23 counts each of making false statements on firearm purchase forms and criminal conspiracy and one count each of on one count of dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, firearm ownership – duty of other persons and illegal sales of a firearm and illegal sales of firearms to an ineligible transferee. All the counts are felonies. Baker was charged in November 2023 following an investigation that found that between January 2019 and December 2020,
Baker purchased 23 handguns from guns stores in Bucks County and Philadelphia. Of those firearms, 19 were purchased in Bucks County gun stores in Bristol Township, Upper Southampton Township, Lower Southampton Township, and Warminster Township, according to court records.
Eight of the firearms purchased in Bucks County were recovered in Philadelphia, some in the possession of people who were prohibited from having firearms and others left behind at crime scenes in the city.
One of the recovered guns had an altered serial number and the other had an illegal Glock Switch installed making it fully automatic.
Detectives with the District Attorney’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisted in this investigation by the Montgomery County Detective Bureau, and the Philadelphia Police Department.
This case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Thomas C. Gannon.
The case is another example of the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office’s commitment to fully investigating and prosecuting those who illegally possess, purchase, manufacture, and traffic firearms.
The DA’s office is +currently is in the midst of prosecuting two additional straw purchase cases of note; Tahir Zahir, of Sharon Hill, Delaware County, arrested and charged last month; Jawone Shakour Williams 32 of Philadelphia is scheduled for a court hearing next month on the 170 plus felony count case filed against him last Fall.
