Owner of Phoenix gun store admits to facilitating dozens of ‘straw purchases’

A Chandler man pleaded guilty to helping illegally buy and transfer at least 72 guns to other people, authorities announced Tuesday.

Alejandro Montemayor, 33, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and failure to file a report related to currency earlier this month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

He committed the crimes while running his Phoenix-based business, AV AZ Firearms, from January 2022 to May 2024, prosecutors said.

Montemayor facilitated “straw purchases” of firearms, a practice in which someone buys a gun on behalf of another person who is legally prohibited from owning one, such as a convicted felon.

A conviction for aiding and abetting a false statement has a maximum penalty of over 5 years in prison, a fine as big as $250,000 or both.

Montemayor also failed to file required reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network for transactions over $10,000, prosecutors said. He admitted to missing 15 of these reports between Feb. 23 and May 14 of 2024, involving more than $258,000 in total.

A conviction of failing to file forms comes with a maximum penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000 or both.

Montemayor is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 17.

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