Phoenix man sentenced to 80 months for lying on form during gun purchase

PHOENIX – A Phoenix man was sentenced this week to more than six years in federal prison for lying on a form while attempting to purchase a handgun, authorities said.

Bobby Lee Seely Jr., 48, was sentenced to 80 months behind bars on Tuesday after previously pleading guilty in the case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced.

Seely made false statements about his legal status while trying to buy a pistol at a federally licensed Arizona firearms store in September 2020, prosecutors said.

He is prohibited from possessing a gun or ammunition because of previous convictions on a felony and a domestic violence misdemeanor. But he lied about his status while filling out a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form at the firearms store, prosecutors said.

After Seely was arrested for lying about his prohibited status, agents searched a storage unit he owned and found a privately made “ghost gun” with a high-capacity magazine and more than 100 rounds of ammunition.

“Federal law doesn’t just prohibit felons from possessing firearms,” U.S. Attorney Gary Restaino said in a press release Wednesday. “Misdemeanor convictions for domestic violence, including where the victim is a spouse or intimate partner, also preclude gun ownership and possession in America.

“And for good reason: Victims are more vulnerable when their abusers have firearms.”

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