A shooting on Standard Lane earlier this month has led Virginia Beach police to uncover yet another illegal gun transaction, and two people now face felony charges.
On May 14, the Virginia Beach Police Department’s Gun Crime Investigative Squad started digging into the firearm used in that shooting. What they found was a straw purchase: someone buying a gun on behalf of someone who legally can’t.
Christine Howell, 50, was arrested for making that purchase. Police say she lied on the federal firearms consent form to get a gun for Rahsheda Scott, 47, who’s a convicted felon. Howell now faces charges for the straw purchase and for lying on that form.
Scott, the one who allegedly initiated the purchase, has been charged with Soliciting a Straw Purchase and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon.
VBPD Chief Paul Neudigate said in a statement that these kinds of illegal purchases are a key driver of gun violence in the city. “The purchase of firearms for prohibited persons helps fuel the recurring cycle of gun violence, putting our community at risk,” he said. “VBPD will continue to aggressively investigate straw purchases of firearms and hold those individuals accountable for introducing guns into the hands of those who cannot possess them.”
This is just the latest case highlighting how straw purchases remain a serious threat, turning legal transactions into weapons in the wrong hands.