Harrisburg Resident Sentenced for Deceptive Firearm Purchases Linked to Crime

Court News

HARRISBURG, PA — On Wednesday, United States District Court Judge Christopher C. Conner sentenced Riley Simmons, a 32-year-old resident of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to time served (13 months) for making materially false statements associated with firearm acquisitions. In addition to the prison term, Judge Conner ordered Simmons to serve two years of supervised release, including six months of home detention, and pay a fine of $700.

According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, Simmons had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements during firearm purchases. From September 2018 to February 2019, Simmons reportedly bought five firearms from Federal Firearms Licensees in Dauphin and Cumberland Counties, knowing they were for friends prohibited from possessing them due to prior felony convictions.

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Three of these firearms were later found in possession of felons with whom Simmons lived or was associated. One of the firearms was used in a Harrisburg shooting in February 2019, and another bore the print of an individual wanted for attempted murder in Williamsport. Two of the firearms purchased by Simmons remain unaccounted for today.

The case against Simmons was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dauphin County District Attorney’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Haugsby leading the prosecution.

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