Man Pleads Guilty In Straw Gun-Buying Scheme
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Robbinsdale man has pleaded guilty in what federal authorities call a scheme to have straw purchasers buy guns for people who are barred from having them.
The U.S. Attorney's office says 21-year-old Keniko Bland pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of illegally receiving a firearm by a person under indictment. Bland was indicted along with four co-defendants in May.
Last November, Bland was charged in Hennepin County with terroristic threats and was therefore barred by federal law from receiving a firearm or ammunition.
Prosecutors say in February, Bland got a co-defendant to buy him a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, a 15-round magazine and two boxes of ammunition.
Bland faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a supervised release term of three years.
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