Greensboro, NC – A former firearms dealer from Durham has pleaded guilty to two federal firearm charges, announced Anna Mills Wagoner, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina.

SHARYN DIXON DUKE, age 51, formerly a Federal Firearms Licensee and vice-president of ARMORY ARMS, INC., in Durham, North Carolina, was indicted in October, 2006, on four federal firearms violations after she sold a Kahr Arms 9mm pistol to a confidential informant who had previously advised DUKE that she was unable to lawfully buy a gun because she was a convicted felon. DUKE acknowledged that she should not sell the firearm to the individual but sold it nonetheless. In connection with the sale, DUKE falsified ATF Form 4473, a federal Firearms Transaction Record, when she falsely acknowledged that a second individual was the actual buyer, when in fact she was not.

DUKE pleaded guilty on June 19, 2007, in Greensboro, to one count of knowingly providing false information on a federal Firearms Transaction Record, and one count of selling a firearm to a prohibited person.

DUKE is scheduled to be sentenced on September 27, 2007. She faces up to ten years imprisonment, up to three years supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. DUKE voluntarily surrendered her federal firearms license in April, 2006, after federal agents executed a search warrant at ARMORY ARMS, INC., 3315 Guess Road, Durham, NC.

The case against DUKE was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Durham Police Department.

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