NORRISTOWN — An Upper Merion Township woman was convicted by a jury of charges she used a straw purchase scheme to illegally buy two firearms which she then transferred to other individuals who were prohibited by law from possessing weapons.
Shannon Marie Hrabina, 39, of the 500 block of Stevens Drive in the King of Prussia section of the township, was convicted in Montgomery County Court of charges of making materially false written statements on firearms purchase forms, illegal sale or transfer of firearms, selling a firearm to an ineligible person and conspiracy in connection with incidents that occurred between June 2020 and May 2021.
A jury convicted Hrabina of the charges after a four day trial.
Judge Thomas P. Rogers deferred sentencing until July so that court officials can complete a background investigation report, including drug and alcohol evaluations, about Hrabina.
Hrabina remains free on bail pending sentencing.
Assistant District Attorney Courtney McMonagle vowed to seek a lengthy prison sentence against Hrabina, including a five-year mandatory term allowable under state law for the offenses, “because of the danger” that straw purchases pose to the community.
“Straw purchases occur when somebody buys a gun for somebody else who typically can’t get that gun. Those guns get out onto the streets because people purchase them for somebody who cannot have them,” McMonagle said.
A straw purchase occurs when a person with a clean background purchases firearms on behalf of another person to conceal the true ownership of the firearm. Those who are unable to legally purchase firearms include convicted felons, domestic violence offenders, juveniles and mentally ill individuals.
“Our evidence showed that she filled out paperwork and said that she was the true owner and purchaser of the firearms and the commonwealth presented evidence that that was not the case,” McMonagle added.
Authorities alleged both guns purchased by Hrabina were recovered from people who were prohibited by law from possessing them in Philadelphia and Lower Providence.
The investigation began on March 11, 2023, when Lower Providence Township police performed a traffic stop of a Chrysler 300 vehicle operated by Jermaine Pierce on Trooper Road. A search of the vehicle uncovered controlled substances and a Taurus 9mm handgun, according to a criminal complaint.
Authorities alleged Pierce, due to his criminal history, is prohibited from possessing a gun.
Pierce, 36, was arrested on gun and drug charges and is currently awaiting trial.
Detectives with the county’s Violent Crime Unit took over the investigation and determined the Taurus gun had been purchased on May 15, 2021, by Hrabina at Treeline Sports Inc. in West Norriton and Hrabina had not reported the firearm as stolen, according to the arrest affidavit.
Detectives suspected the firearm was part of a straw purchase.
The investigation also revealed that Hrabina previously purchased another firearm, a Bersa Thunder 9mm handgun, on June 9, 2020, from Treeline Sports.
Hrabina, detectives alleged, did not have a criminal record that prohibited her from purchasing firearms.
While purchasing both firearms, Hrabina indicated on state and federal firearms purchase forms that she was the “actual buyer” of the weapons, detectives alleged.
Detectives contacted Hrabina on April 13, 2023, to discuss her purchase of the Taurus handgun that had been found in Pierce’s possession. Hrabina initially told detectives that both of her guns had been stolen from her vehicle in Philadelphia in August 2022 and that she had reported the theft to Philadelphia police.
The investigation determined that Philadelphia police had no record of a report about the stolen firearms or the vehicle break-in.
“This account provided by Hrabina seemed very fictitious and did not make sense,” detectives wrote in the arrest affidavit, adding Hrabina claimed she purchased the weapons for protection but never fired them. “In my experience, this is strange behavior to have a firearm for protection and never shoot it once. This unfamiliarity with any weapon is indicative of a ‘straw purchase’ from the beginning.”
When detectives downloaded the contents of Hrabina’s cellphone they found a contact for Pierce and text communications between the pair indicating Hrabina and Pierce conspired to illegally “straw purchase the Taurus firearm,” according to court documents.
Detectives alleged the Bersa 9mm handgun had also been illegally purchased by Hrabina and transferred to someone else.
“Hrabina invented a cover story about her firearms being stolen, which did not have any facts to lead us to believe she was telling the truth,” detectives alleged.
Defense lawyer Laurie Robin Jubelirer represented Hrabina during the trial.
