Source: United States Department of Justice News
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Cheyenne McIntosh (26, Bradenton) has pleaded guilty to making a false statement on an ATF form. McIntosh faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and has agreed to forfeit seven firearms. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, on August 18, 2021, Jamaican authorities recovered a firearm that had been used in a homicide. On September 13, 2021, the Jamaican authorities requested that law enforcement in the United States trace the origin of the firearm. The trace revealed that McIntosh had purchased the firearm on March 16, 2021, 155 days prior to the homicide. Officers conducted additional research and discovered that McIntosh had purchased several additional firearms.
Law enforcement officers attempted to locate McIntosh using the address she had provided on the ATF Form 4473 when she purchased the firearm that was later used in the homicide, but they were unsuccessful. Officers eventually learned that McIntosh had not resided at the address for more than a year. Officers eventually made contact with McIntosh on September 14, 2021. McIntosh confirmed that she had not lived at the address she listed on the ATF Form 4473 since January 2021. She also told the officers that she had purchased additional firearms on September 9, 2021. McIntosh stated that she buys firearms and sells them. She stated that she had sold 25 firearms since March 2021, and that she does not keep track of who she sells them to or conduct background checks. McIntosh stated that she would no longer provide the incorrect address when purchasing firearms.
On September 20, 2021, agents learned that McIntosh had purchased seven firearms on September 13, 2021, and would be picking them up that day. Agents also learned that McIntosh had provided the same incorrect address on the ATF 4473 Form when she purchased the firearms. When McIntosh picked the firearms up from the store, she certified that the address on the 4473 ATF form was correct. Agents approached McIntosh as she left the store. McIntosh confirmed that she had provided a false address on the ATF form.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Charlie D. Connally.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.