MONROEVILLE, Pa. — Four people are facing charges and 19 guns were seized earlier this month at the Monroeville Gun Show.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced Monday that the arrests happened on Feb. 6-7 as part of a joint surveillance operation with the Monroeville Police Department.
Robert Raglin of Duquesne; and David Fields, Tanesha Olverson and Elizabeth Rexrode, each from Pittsburgh, were arrested for their alleged roles in the illegal straw purchases of firearms.
“Straw purchases are fueling the gun violence epidemic that takes the lives of Pennsylvanians every single day,” said Shapiro. “The Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Section, along with our local law enforcement partners, are working overtime to target these gun traffickers and get illegal guns off our streets.”
According to Shapiro, Fields is prohibited from purchasing a firearm; and Raglin, a convicted felon, is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm. Olverson and Rexroad acted as straw purchasers to acquire firearms for people prohibited from having them.
During the gun show, agents observed a straw purchaser buy an Uzi and long gun for Fields using money that Fields passed to a purchaser. As a result of this surveillance operation, agents arrested Fields and obtained a search warrant for his home, where they recovered 13 additional guns.
Olverson was seen purchasing an AR-15 rifle while being accompanied by Raglin, who is a known gun trafficker. Following the straw purchase, Olverson was interviewed by agents and a search was conducted on her vehicle, where agents seized a Glock-19 handgun and $6,000 in cash.
Rexrode, a fugitive, received cash and approached a vendor to purchase a firearm illegal to possess.
The investigation is ongoing.