OCALA, Fla. – A former Florida jail guard has pleaded guilty to buying firearms and immediately reselling them to someone who hadn’t passed a federal background check.
Kenyari Devaughnte Brewton, 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Ocala federal court to making a materially false statement during the purchase of a firearm and causing a federal firearms licensee to maintain false information in its official records, according to court records. He faces up to 15 years in prison.
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According to the plea agreement, Brewton purchased multiple firearms from a Marion County gun dealer between March 2020 and April 2021. Brewton certified on each firearm transaction form that he was the “actual transferee/buyer” of these guns. But he actually purchased the firearms on behalf of another person and never intended to keep them, prosecutors said.
Brewton also used his status as a detention deputy in nearby Alachua County to obtain discount prices on some of the firearms.
Brewton purchased a .40 caliber Glock pistol in April that was used six days later by another person during a homicide, officials said. That firearm was later recovered by Ocala police during a traffic stop involving four armed men with masks, gloves and loaded firearms.
Brewton was fired from the Alachua County jail after his August arrest. Investigators said a search of Brewton’s cellphone revealed numerous text conversations between Brewton and the person for whom he had agreed to purchase the firearms.