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Taalibudeen “Taalib” Ibn Hasdn Anderson, 22, and Tariq Anderson, 23, both of Philadelphia, and Daijon Griffin, 21, of Wilmington, Delaware, are each in police custody, said Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele's Office.
It began in Apil, prosecutors said, when an active duty Army serviceman visited his mother in Philly while on leave, the DA's Office said.
The soldier lost both his Pennsylvania driver's license and his US Military ID during the trip, and "promptly" reported as much to his superiors, authorities said.
"Not long" after the soldier's identities went missing, Taalib Anderson began buying guns under the serviceman's name, the DA claimed.
Between June 17 and July 6, he allegedly bought 14 firearms through an online vendor and was able to pick them up at a Wyndmoor gun shop, officials said.
Later, on July 12, prosecutors said both Andersons visited the same Wyndmoor shop to try to purchase 14 more guns. Taalib, authorities claimed, showed the soldier's ID again and used his name while filling out the paperwork.
The required state police background check was "delayed," and the Andersons left the store without the guns, according to investigators. They called a Lyft, but were pulled over during their ride home, the release says.
Taalib gave his police his real name and ID during the stop, but the soldier's identities were found in the car after the Lyft driver consented to a search, the DA said. Tariq allegedly fled from the car on foot but was caught a short time later.
Of the 14 guns they successfully purchased, none were found in the Andersons' Germantown home, prosecutors said. Only three of the guns have since been recovered by police, and one of them was connected to a July 22 shooting, they added.
Of the 14 more they allegedly tried to purchase, all have been recovered, police said.
Taalib and Tariq Anderson were both arraigned Thursday, Aug. 10 where a Montgomery County judge set bail at $500,000 each, the DA's Office said. Griffin, their alleged co-conspirator, was arrested by US Marshals in Delaware and will be arraigned pending extradition, they added.
“Gun trafficking defeats a key tool to prevent serious crime and puts our communities, and the people who live there, at risk," said Pennsylvania Attorney General Michell Henry in a statement.
"Not only did the defendants' alleged crimes endanger the physical safety of Pennsylvanians, but they exploited the identity of a soldier serving our country."
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