Laurel man arrested for illegal gun purchases

Sussex County, DE – During the month of March 2021, the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Task Force (ATF), Delaware State Police, Wilmington Police Department, Dover Police Department, and Delaware Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement (DATE) began an investigation into a possible firearms straw purchasing suspect.

Straw purchasing is the illegal purchase of a firearm by one person for another.

Between August 2020 and March 2021, Task Force Officers identified Keyon Dontae Jabre Eley, 24, of Laurel, as an individual straw purchasing 38 firearms. The investigation also revealed Eley was purchasing firearms for other individuals who are prohibited from purchasing firearms.

The investigation concluded on November 3, 2021, when Eley was located and taken into custody without incident at a residence in Laurel, DE. When arrested, he was in possession of one firearm he had purchased.

He was arraigned in the Justice of the Peace Court on 68 felony firearm charges and committed to Sussex Correctional Institution on a $136,000.00 secured bond.

Source: DE State Police Newsroom