A California resident, Lonnel Diggs, was sentenced to nine years in prison by U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen in Portland, Maine. The sentencing followed Diggs' guilty plea on August 19, 2024, for being a felon in possession of firearms.
Court records indicate that in March 2022, Diggs and an accomplice approached a couple who had previously purchased crack cocaine from him. They proposed that the couple buy firearms on their behalf in exchange for cash and drugs. The couple agreed and traveled to gun shows and stores in Maine to make these straw purchases. At one event, Diggs photographed firearms and sent the images to the couple, who then bought the weapons and handed them over to him.
Diggs has prior convictions in California for robbery in 2003 and assault with a dangerous weapon on a peace officer in 2010, which legally prohibits him from possessing firearms.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with support from the Lewiston Police Department.
A straw purchase involves an illegal firearm transaction where the actual buyer uses someone else who can pass a federal background check to purchase a gun on their behalf.