HARRISBURG—Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced the arrests of five individuals in Allegheny County linked to gun trafficking and related firearm offenses. The Office of Attorney General, with the assistance of local law enforcement, arrested Terri Wilson, Jalaan Williams, Craig Joyner, and Devante Ferguson for their roles in the illegal straw purchases of firearms. Audra Voye was also arrested today for firearms related offenses. The unrelated arrests of Wilson, Williams, and Voye followed referrals from the Pittsburgh Police Department. The investigation into Joyner and Ferguson was initiated at the Monroeville Gun Show where the Office of Attorney General’s Gun violence Section worked in cooperation with the Monroeville Police Department.
“Gun violence is ravaging our communities and my office is using all the tools available to us to make an immediate and measurable difference,” said AG Shapiro. “Three of the defendants arrested today were women buying guns for significant others they knew were legally prohibited from owning a firearm. If you buy a gun for someone who can not legally own a firearm, including violent criminals, you will be held responsible for making our neighborhoods less safe. Thanks to strong collaboration with our area law enforcement partners we were able to stop these straw purchases and keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”
According to the investigation conducted by the Office of Attorney General Gun Violence Section and the Pittsburgh Police Department, Terri Wilson purchased a firearm that was recovered by law enforcement on her husband Deion Wilson, a prohibited purchaser. An investigation similarly discovered that Jalaan Williams purchased seven guns for her ex-boyfriend Allen Glover, also a prohibited purchaser.
Defendant Audra Voye was found, following an investigation, to have falsely filed a burglary report claiming three of her firearms were stolen. In reality, Voye knew who had her firearms and two were recovered at the scenes of crimes committed in Pittsburgh. Voye also falsified state and federal firearms forms when purchasing the firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL).
OAG’s Gun Violence Section and the Monroeville Police Department observed Craig Joyner conducting a straw purchase at the Monroeville Gun Show with Devante Ferguson. An investigation confirmed that Joyner was illegally straw purchasing a firearm for Ferguson.
These cases are being prosecuted by the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office. This was a joint operation conducted by the OAG Gun Violence Section, Pittsburgh Police Department, and the Monroeville Police Department. All charges discussed are accusations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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