Being a police officer is tough. I wouldn’t do it for three times the top-end pay for an officer, much less what they actually get paid. Growing up around the profession, I saw just what kind of toll it could take on a person, and that’s without losing a number of your colleagues in a single day. Just one was enough to rattle a lot of police officers’ families deeply.
Officers in Charlotte, NC, dealt with that back in 2024 when four of their colleagues were gunned down by a convicted felon armed with a gun he wasn’t lawfully able to get on his own.
Now, the ATF and U.S. Marshals have made an arrest of the alleged straw buyer.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with support from the U.S. Marshals Service, arrested Natasha Renee Gibbs, 42, on Sept. 28, in Dallas, Texas, for her alleged role in illegally purchasing a firearm for convicted felon Terry Clark Hughes Jr. Hughes used that firearm during the April 29, 2024, shooting in Charlotte that killed multiple law enforcement officers.
“Purchasing or providing a firearm for someone prohibited from possessing one is far more than a paperwork violation,” said ATF Director Rob Cekada. [“]It is a serious act and a flagrant disregard for the law that can place a weapon in the hands of someone who should never have had it in the first place. As this case tragically demonstrates, the consequences can be devastating.”
“Nearly two and a half years later, the families of all four fallen law enforcement officers we lost that day are still carrying that grief, and so are we. The United States Marshals Service will forever mourn the loss of Deputy U.S. Marshal Tommy Weeks, N.C. Department of Adult Correction Officers Sam Poloche and Alden Elliott, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department Officer Joshua Eyer,” said U.S. Marshals Service Director Gadyaces Serralta. “This arrest reflects the determination of every investigator and partner agency who refused to let this case go. Straw purchasers, and those who aid and abet them, share responsibility for what prohibited persons do with the firearms they help put in their hands. We will keep working alongside our partners to deliver accountability for Tommy, Sam, Alden, Joshua, their families, and the community.”
Gibbs is charged with knowingly making false or fictitious statements during the acquisition of a firearm from a licensed dealer and illegally transferring firearms. These offenses carry potential penalties of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.
The problem is that a lot of straw buyers don’t get prosecuted. We know they did it, and the evidence is pretty clear, but they never see the inside of a jail cell.
The Marshals were probably involved because one of the LEOs killed was a Marshal, and they wanted a piece of their own back, which I get and have no problem with.
Look, I don’t think the prohibitions that exist should exist. However, if we’re going to have them, freaking enforce them before bowing to the demands of hysterical anti-gunners who seem to want more and more restrictions on people like you and me. Charlotte triggered a lot of them into screaming about assault weapons all over again, even though the problem was an illegal straw buy.
Now Gibbs gets to answer for her alleged crimes. After this, she won’t be purchasing any more guns for convicted felons, even if she wants to. She might not see prison time, but as long as they don’t downgrade the charges, I seriously don’t see her escaping this without a felony charge she’ll have to beat in court.
Editor’s Note: The American people overwhelmingly support President Trump’s law and order agenda.
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