NORFOLK, Va. — A 21-year-old Virginia Beach man admitted in federal court today to arming criminals by orchestrating a straw-purchasing ring and later trying to silence the only witness who could put him behind bars. Christopher Allen Deaton pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of five firearms and witness tampering, crimes that cut to the core of violent gun proliferation in the region.
Deaton, a previously convicted felon barred from owning firearms, exploited his girlfriend to buy five handguns at gun stores across Virginia. He drove her to the dealerships, selected the weapons and ammunition, and coached her to lie on federal Form 4473 — the sworn document that certifies a buyer is the actual purchaser. Those lies enabled Deaton to slip five loaded handguns into the illegal market, where they were destined for out-of-state buyers willing to pay cash.
“Prohibited persons who possess firearms are a significant danger to the safety of our communities,” said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Deaton, who is prohibited from possessing firearms as a previously convicted felon, conspired with his girlfriend to illegally straw purchase and traffick firearms for profit. Straw purchasing firearms literally arms criminals, and puts law enforcement and the law-abiding public in danger.”
The scheme unraveled when federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) moved in. But even behind bars on unrelated charges, Deaton remained dangerous. Within hours of an ATF visit to question him about the operation, he began using the jail’s monitored phone system to pressure his girlfriend not to cooperate. He urged her to stonewall investigators and avoid testifying, a move that added a federal witness-tampering charge to his growing rap sheet.
Deaton now faces a maximum of 10 years in prison when sentenced on September 3. While federal sentences often fall below the statutory maximum, U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard made it clear the court would weigh the full scope of Deaton’s actions — from trafficking to obstruction. Assistant U.S. Attorney William B. Jackson is prosecuting. Special Agent in Charge Ashan M. Benedict of ATF’s Washington Field Division called the case a textbook example of how straw purchasing fuels violent crime.
This case was handled under Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to dismantle violent crime networks. By targeting offenders like Deaton — who profit from flooding communities with illegal guns — PSN aims to break the cycle of violence before it spreads. Court records, including Case No. 2:19-cr-37, are available via PACER and the Eastern District of Virginia’s public docket.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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