Ulster County resident Oryin McLeod, age 23, of Kingston, admitted on Wednesday, Feb. 14, that he entered into an agreement with Rylan Peterson, a native of Kingston then serving in the Marine Corps at a base in North Carolina, for Peterson to acquire six semi-automatic handguns on behalf of McLeod and others, according to US Attorney for the Northern District of New York Carla Freeman.
According to court documents, Peterson then obtained the guns from a North Carolina resident, who purchased them from a licensed dealer in North Carolina, falsely representing at the time of the purchase that he was acquiring the firearms for himself.
McLeod paid Peterson for the guns, which Peterson transported to New York from North Carolina. McLeod was arrested for unlawful possession of two of the handguns, the US Attorney's Office said.
McLeod faces up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of three years.
ATF and the Kingston Police Department are investigating the case.
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