A 26-year-old Salem man — and convicted felon — was charged with more felonies after he tried to buy an AK-47 from a gun shop in Union Grove by having someone else buy it for him.
Brandon Armes was charged by the Racine County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday with two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of marijuana. If convicted of all charges, Armes faces up to 20 years six months in prison and/or fines up to $51,000.
According to the criminal complaint, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms notified the Racine County Sheriff’s Department that a woman was trying to buy an AK-47 .22 rifle for Armes, a convicted felon, from Buisse Custom Arms, 921 Commerce Drive in Union Grove.
The woman had the rifle shipped to the store. The owner told investigators that he thought it could be “a ‘straw’ purchase,” which means the actual buyer of the firearm uses another person to execute the paperwork from the firearms dealer.
The woman filled out the paperwork for the background check, but it was “delayed” and the woman and Armes were told they would need to return to the story later. Armes then came back to the store on Feb. 19 and the owner had a firearm holster on his hip. The owner told investigators that the firearm was a Glock.
Two days later the owner called the woman and told her that her gun, an AK47 cal .22 semi-automatic rifle, was ready. She came back to the store with Armes, another man, and Arme’s 18-month-old son. Investigators arrested Armes at the store. They also found THC wax in his pocket.
Armes admitted to investigators that he did have a loaded Glock on him when he went into the store, handling around five firearms in the last year, and intended to buy a Glock and 380 from his mother.
Armes, who is being held on a $10,000 cash bond at the Racine County Jail, was convicted of possession of narcotic drugs on Jan. 19, 2017 and is currently on probation. A preliminary hearing has been set for 8:30 a.m. March 7.
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