Malachi Martins, Straw Purchases of Multiple Firearms, Maine 2022

A Massachusetts man was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for conspiring to violate federal firearms laws in Maine.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen handed down the sentence to Malachi Martins, aka ‘Steve,’ 28, on May 26, 2022. Martins pleaded guilty to the charges on the same day.

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.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

Martins will serve three years of supervised release after his prison term.

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