New York Man Pleads Guilty to Firearms Conspiracy Extending From Maine to New York

BANGOR, Maine: A Syracuse, New York man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to being a felon in possession of a firearm and conspiring to violate federal firearms laws.

According to court records, beginning in May 2022, Tyquinn Montell Cannon (aka “Q”), 30, knowingly conspired with others in Maine and New York to illegally obtain firearms at federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs) in central and southern Maine using straw purchasers. Two of the coconspirators located in Maine would arrange for the straw purchase of firearms, and Cannon would deliver, or arrange the delivery of, the illegally obtained firearms to coconspirators located in New York.

Cannon is prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition due to a March 2018 conviction in Illinois for the illegal possession of cocaine.

Cannon faces up to 15 years in prison, a fine up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release on the possession of a firearms charge. He faces up to five years imprisonment, a fine not to exceed $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release on the conspiracy charge. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.

STRAW PURCHASING: A straw purchase is an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.

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