Terri Lawhorn, Straw Purchaser, West Virginia 2020

BECKLEY, W.Va. – A Fayette County woman has been caught in a firearms trafficking scheme, and now faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Terri Lawhorn, 27, of Fayetteville, West Virginia, pleaded guilty to providing false information on a government form to acquire firearms.

On December 23, 2020, Lawhorn purchased three firearms: a Glock 44 .22-caliber pistol, a Glock 43 9mm pistol, and a Glock 42 .380-caliber pistol. According to court documents and statements made in court, Lawhorn admitted that she purchased the firearms for Bisheem Jones, also known as ‘Bosh,’ who is separately charged in a pending gun trafficking conspiracy.

Lawhorn purchased at least six firearms as part of the overall scheme. Each time Lawhorn bought firearms for Jones, she lied on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473, Federal Firearms Transaction Records, certifying that she was buying the guns for herself when she knew they were for Jones. This action is known as straw purchasing.

Lawhorn is scheduled to be sentenced on September 2, 2022. She faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

United States Attorney Will Thompson commended the ATF, which conducted the investigation. United States District Judge Frank W. Volk presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Negar M. Kordestani is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the U.S. Attorney’s office violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.

Lawhorn is among 13 individuals indicted in connection with their roles in a conspiracy to traffic over 130 firearms from the Beckley area to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. More than 30 of the firearms have been recovered in Philadelphia and have been connected to two homicides, crimes of domestic violence, and other violent offenses. Co-defendant Arileah Lacy, also known as ‘Leah,’ 24, of Beckley, pleaded guilty on April 22, 2022, to providing false information on an ATF form in order to acquire a firearm. The case remains pending against Jones and the other co-defendants.

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