Arizona man sentenced to over 4 years for conspiracy to purchase firearms

PHOENIX — An Arizona man was sentenced last week to over four years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to purchase dozens of firearms illegally, authorities announced Tuesday.

Omar Molina-Galeana, 22, will serve 52 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after he previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy in June, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release.

Prosecutors said between November 2021 and April 2022, Molina-Galeana got 48 firearms by using nine “straw purchasers.”

Straw purchases are defined as an illegal purchase of a firearm by one person for another, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

The case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings all levels of law enforcement together to reduce violent crime.

ATF conducted the investigation.

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