Newport News, Va. – A Portsmouth man, Dartanguia Antonious Lee, was sentenced to 17 years in prison today for making false statements to illegally straw-purchase firearms.
Court documents reveal that Lee, also known by several aliases including Donte, Dante, Dionte, Snoop, Snookie, and Bully, is a 42-year-old armed career criminal with numerous felony convictions. His criminal record includes serious drug crimes and five counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon. From December 2019 to March 2020, Lee used his girlfriend to straw-purchase at least 19 firearms from four federally licensed firearms dealers. Due to his prior convictions, Lee is prohibited from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition.
Investigations revealed that Lee frequently transferred these firearms to other convicted felons who were also unable to legally purchase their own. Several of these firearms have already been recovered by law enforcement.
Lee was apprehended in Greensboro, North Carolina, in September 2022, months after being federally indicted in Virginia. His arrest was part of a drug trafficking investigation that also involved multiple firearms. Lee still faces pending charges in North Carolina.