Bay State man gets two years for straw purchases of seven firearms

PORTLAND, Maine - A Massachusetts man was sentenced on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Portland for conspiring to violate the federal firearms laws.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen sentenced Malachi Martins, aka "Steve," 28, to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Martins pleaded guilty on May 26.

According to court records, from October 2019 through January 2020, Martins purchased at least seven firearms from licensed dealers in Kittery and Gray using a straw purchaser. Martins, a known drug trafficker, paid for the firearms with drug proceeds and paid the coconspirator by forgiving his drug debt. He then distributed the firearms in Massachusetts.

Straw purchasing typically involves a buyer who can lawfully purchase firearms but who then provides them to another person who is legally prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms, therefore allowing the prohibited person to illegally obtain firearms and avoid the national background check system. Martins is prohibited from possessing firearms due to two previous convictions.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.