NORRISTOWN — A man from Pottstown admitted to a plan where he bought eight weapons at gun stores in Chester and Berks counties and falsely stated on paperwork that the guns were for him when he was really buying them for people who were not allowed to have guns.
Brandon Otter, 23, from the unit block of Prince Street, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to multiple serious counts of making false written statements on federal firearms purchase forms in connection with incidents that happened between June 2022 and May 2023.
Judge Thomas M. DelRicci postponed sentencing so that court officials can finish a background investigation report about Otter.
Otter could possibly get 20 to 40 years in prison for the charges. However, state sentencing guidelines might allow for a shorter sentence.
DelRicci ordered Otter to the county jail without bail to wait for a sentencing hearing later this year.
The investigation began on Aug. 15, 2023, when Pottstown police went to the 400 block of East High Street for reports of people hanging around and trespassing. Responding officers found a green backpack on the ground but none of the people in the area claimed it.
A search of the backpack revealed a Smith & Wesson 9mm handgun with ammunition, and the serial number had been scratched in an attempt to hide it, according to court papers.
An officer’s bodycam footage of his arrival on the scene showed a 15-year-old take the backpack from his shoulders and put it on the ground. That teenager, who was not allowed to have a firearm due to his age, was later charged with firearms offenses.
The subsequent investigation found that the confiscated firearm had been bought by Otter on May 31, 2023, from JW Firearms, a gun store on South Hanover Street in North Coventry, Chester County, according to court documents.
Investigators suspected Otter’s gun purchase was a straw purchase.
A straw purchase occurs when a person with a clean background buys firearms for another person to hide the true ownership. People who cannot legally buy firearms include convicted felons, domestic violence offenders, juveniles, and mentally ill individuals.
“Of particular interest to law enforcement is the attempt to obliterate the serial number assigned to the firearm. This is commonly done as a way of hindering law enforcement’s attempts into determining the true purchaser of the firearm,” Higgins and Weitzel alleged in the arrest affidavit.
The investigation showed that Otter bought four firearms from the North Coventry gun store, two on Feb. 24, 2023, and two on May 31, 2023, according to court documents. On federal firearms purchase forms, Otter indicated he bought the firearms for himself and not another person, detectives alleged.
After investigating Otter’s buying history, detectives found out that he bought four more guns between June 17, 2022, and Feb. 24, 2023, from gun stores in Chester and Berks counties, totaling eight guns.
Specifically, detectives stated that Otter bought one gun at Sensibly Armed Personal Protection Training in the 2800 block of Perkiomen Avenue in Mt. Penn, Berks County, and seven handguns from Hudson’s Outfitters/JW Firearms in the 1400 block of South Hanover Street in North Coventry.
The guns included 9mm and .40-caliber semiautomatic handguns.
According to detectives, Otter bought two identical models of Smith & Wesson handguns.
Higgins and Weitzel alleged that purchasing the same or similar model firearms is a sign of straw gun purchases, based on their training and experience.
Detectives claimed that a large number of guns bought in a short time indicates someone conducting straw purchases, based on their experience.
In the arrest affidavit, Higgins and Weitzel wrote that buying multiple firearms on the same day is also a sign of straw purchases. Otter bought eight handguns in eleven months and purchased two firearms on both February 24 and May 31, 2023.
Detectives accused Otter of selling each of the eight handguns for profit to individuals who were prohibited from buying or having guns.
According to detectives, Otter did not have a federal firearm license to sell guns, making all his handgun transfers illegal.
At the time of sentencing, other charges against Otter, including dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, illegal sale or transfer of firearms, and unsworn falsification to authorities, are expected to be dropped.
