BANGOR, ME – Another lowlife feeding the streets gets what he deserves. Jason Morgan, 24, of Augusta, Maine, was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release after admitting he lied to a federal firearms licensee to obtain a handgun for someone else. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Lance E. Walker, a small victory in a state increasingly awash in illegal firearms.
According to court documents, Morgan walked into a gun shop in Augusta on May 26, 2017, and purchased a Smith & Wesson .380 semi-automatic pistol. He checked the box on the Firearms Transaction Record swearing he was the actual buyer – a blatant lie. The truth? He was fronting for another individual, a known dealer in illegal drugs, who provided Morgan with the cash for the weapon. This isn’t about gun rights; it’s about criminals circumventing the law and arming themselves with the help of pathetic enablers like Morgan.
The feds didn’t buy Morgan’s story. Investigators with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Maine State Police quickly pieced together the scheme. The U.S. Border Patrol also chipped in, highlighting the multi-agency effort to tackle this type of illicit activity. Morgan pleaded guilty on January 17, 2019, likely hoping for a lighter sentence, but Judge Walker wasn’t buying it.
U.S. Attorney Halsey B. Frank, announcing the sentence, framed the case as part of “Project Safe Neighborhoods” (PSN) – a federal initiative aimed at reducing violent crime. Sounds good on paper, but PSN has been around for years, and the streets still run red. Re-launched in 2017 with much fanfare, the program relies on cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement. Whether it’s actually making a dent remains to be seen.
This case underscores a simple fact: straw purchases put guns in the hands of those who shouldn’t have them. Morgan wasn’t interested in self-defense; he was interested in a quick buck and furthering a criminal enterprise. The 18-month sentence sends a message – though a weak one, considering the potential consequences of the gun ending up in the wrong hands – that lying to a federal firearms licensee carries serious penalties.
Expect more of these cases. As long as there’s a demand for illegal firearms and individuals willing to risk federal prison for a paycheck, the ATF and state police will be kept busy. And Grimy Times will be here to report on every dirty detail, exposing the underbelly of crime in America, one sentence at a time.
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Key Facts
- State: Maine
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons|Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
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