Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Winchester Man Sentenced for Making Straw Purchases of Firearms
One Firearm Purchased Was Used Four Days Later in Southeast D.C. Homicide
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A Winchester, Virginia man, who lied when he purchased a firearm that was later used by a close relative in a Washington, D.C. homicide, was sentenced recently to 24 months in federal prison.
Gerald Kendrick Oxner, 25, pled guilty in September 2022 to a one-count Information charging him with making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.
According to court documents, when Oxner purchased a Smith and Wesson 9-millimeter handgun in January 2021, he failed to disclose that he was purchasing the weapon for someone else and also provided a false home address on the required forms. Investigators obtained security camera footage and receipts from the store in Front Royal, Virginia, which show Oxner buying the firearm and using his relative’s debit card to make the purchase.
Law enforcement later recovered the firearm in Maryland, but its serial number had been obliterated. Through forensic analysis, the serial number was restored, and the firearm was subsequently linked to evidence recovered from the scene of a January 2021 shooting in Southeast Washington D.C. where one person was killed and three others were injured. Oxner’s relative was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting.
Oxner further admitted that he made multiple other straw purchases in Virginia. However, when law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence, none of the firearms or related ammunition that he purchased were found in his possession or in the residence. Later, another one of the firearms he bought was found during the execution of an unrelated search warrant in Washington, D.C.
United States Attorney Christopher R. Kavanaugh and Michael Weddel, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Washington Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Melanie Smith, Special Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Joyce, and Deputy United States Attorney Katie B. Medearis prosecuted the case.