DOYLESTOWN, PA — A Delaware County man who admitted to buying guns later used in violent crimes across Philadelphia was sentenced Friday to up to 25 years in state prison, the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Tahir Zahir, 30, of Sharon Hill, pleaded guilty in August to a series of felony charges including dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, unlawful sales of firearms, sales to an ineligible transferee, making false statements during gun purchases, firearm ownership violations, and criminal conspiracy. Judge Stephen A. Corr sentenced him to 12 to 25 years in prison, followed by two years of probation.
Prosecutors said Zahir acted as a “straw purchaser,” buying firearms on behalf of individuals who were prohibited from legally owning them. Between August 2018 and June 2023, investigators determined he bought 14 guns from stores across Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties. That included six firearms from Auger Precision Firearms in Croydon and another from The Bunker Gun Shop II in Chalfont.
Of those 14 guns, five were later recovered and tied to shootings and other criminal acts in Philadelphia. One weapon was used in a March 31, 2020 homicide — a gun Zahir had bought 41 days before the killing and reported stolen 42 days after the crime. Another was recovered from a known Philadelphia gang member, investigators said.
Detectives said Zahir’s behavior showed clear signs of straw purchasing: buying multiple guns in a short period, repeatedly purchasing identical firearms, and having weapons recovered from crime scenes soon after they were sold.
“This sentence sends a clear message that we will continue to use every resource available to get illegal guns and the offenders who traffic them off our streets and out of our communities,” the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
The investigation was led by a Middletown Township detective assigned to the Bucks County District Attorney’s Gun Violence Task Force, with support from county detectives, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and law enforcement officials from Montgomery, Delaware, and Philadelphia counties. Deputy District Attorney Thomas C. Gannon prosecuted the case.
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