Wilkes-Barre man sentenced for 'straw purchases' of firearms
Mar. 28—WILKES-BARRE — A man from Wilkes-Barre who was paid in cash and marijuana to purchase firearms for other people — one firearm was used in a homicide — was sentenced in Luzerne County Court on Thursday.
Justin Jasire Otero, 25, of Puritan Lane, was eligible for restrictive probation but President Judge Michael T. Vough sentenced him to nine-to-23 months at the county correctional facility on charges of false written statements and statements under penalty of law for intentionally providing misleading or false information on firearm purchase applications.
Otero must also serve one-year probation and 30 hours of community service when he is released from prison.
"You put guns on our streets, causing people to die. That is not appropriate behavior," Vough said.
Vough said the only reason why Otero was not sentenced to state prison because he cooperated with investigators and pled guilty to the charges on Feb. 5.
Agents with the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office and Luzerne County detectives launched an investigation when a Taurus 9mm, registered to Otero, was used in a homicide.
A records check revealed Otero purchased a total of six handguns — four Taurus 9mm and two Springfield 9mm, in July and August 2021, at a licensed firearms dealer in Hazle Township.
During an interview with investigators, court records say, Otero admitted he was a user of marijuana, purchased at least six firearms selected by other people, and was paid in marijuana and cash.
