Indictment message: Straw buyers beware

Opinion editor’s note: Editorials represent the opinions of the Star Tribune Editorial Board, which operates independently from the newsroom.

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Thanks to the diligent efforts of a prosecutors and law enforcement, a Burnsville woman faces federal charges for buying the firearms for her boyfriend that were used in the murders of three Burnsville first-responders last month.

Ashley Anne Dyrdahl was indicted last week on 11 federal counts, including conspiracy, straw purchasing and making false statements. Despite being prohibited from having guns because of a prior conviction, Shannon Cortez Gooden in turn used the guns bought by Dyrdahl in the Feb. 18 shootings of Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth before fatally shooting himself, the charges allege.

U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger’s office and other law enforcement partners did an outstanding job of tracing where the guns came from and how Gooden got them.

The Gooden indictment and other similar cases should send a strong message to those who knowingly, willingly buying guns for criminals: Those firearms can be traced, and buyers will be held accountable — just like the person who pulls the trigger.

“Ashley Dyrdahl didn’t shoot anybody, make no mistake; that was Shannon Gooden in this incident,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said at a news conference announcing the charges. “But Ashley Dyrdahl handed him the guns, and for this she must be held accountable.”

According to the charges, Dyrdahl was aware that Gooden was prohibited from owning firearms when she bought five guns from two federally licensed dealers between September 2023 and January of this year before “knowingly and intentionally” transferring them to Gooden, the Star Tribune reported.

A straw purchase, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, involves buying a firearm for someone who is prohibited by law from possessing one or for someone who doesn’t want their name connected with the gun.

A February 2023 federal report showed that 46% of guns recovered at crime scenes had been purchased within three years. That quick turnaround can indicate illegal gun trafficking or a straw purchase — and those firearms sometimes end up in the hands of felons or minors.

In the recent culmination of a high-profile Michigan case, James and Jennifer Crumbley were convicted of involuntary manslaughter for their roles in the 2021 mass shooting at a suburban Detroit high school that left four students dead and seven wounded.

The Crumbleys were accused of failing to secure a gun at home, which could have prevented their son, Ethan, from carrying out the attack. They had given the gun to their then-15-year-old as a gift.

And in another recent case that followed the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting, three Missouri men were charged with federal counts related to the illegal purchase of high-powered rifles and guns with extended magazines. At least two of the guns found at the scene were connected the shooting last month at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl celebration that killed one and wounded nearly two dozen others.

In 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which toughened penalties for gun trafficking. The Department of Justice has devoted more resources to investigating and prosecuting these cases, and the agency’s website says it charged more than 60 people and confiscated hundreds of firearms since the law was passed.

At the state level, legislation introduced by Rep. Kaela Berg, DFL-Burnsville, would make straw purchases of firearms a felony under Minnesota law. That’s something lawmakers should quickly get behind.

To prevent tragedy and save lives, it’s critical to continue cracking down on those who buy firearms and illegally turn them over to others who commit crimes.