TAMPA — A 21-year-old Palmetto man faces up to 10 years in federal prison after a grand jury indicted him for allegedly lying on a federal firearms form to purchase a Glock handgun on behalf of another person, U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announced.
Desmin Terrell Belvin Jr. is charged with making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer. According to the indictment, Belvin falsely represented on an ATF Form 4473 that he was the actual transferee or buyer of the Glock handgun when he knew he was purchasing it for someone else. The alleged straw purchase occurred on March 21.
Straw purchases — in which one person buys a firearm on behalf of another who is typically prohibited from purchasing one — are a federal crime and a persistent pipeline for weapons reaching prohibited possessors and criminal networks. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Chang is prosecuting the case in the Middle District of Florida. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
Belvin faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison if convicted. A court date has not yet been publicly scheduled.