2 charged, another sentenced in separate straw purchasing cases
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Two people were charged and another was sentenced after an investigation into illegal firearms trafficking and violent crime surrounding Providence.
The attorney general’s office said on Thursday that 24-year-old Danasia Machado, of Central Falls, and 20-year-old Marcos Castellanos, of Sioux City, Iowa, are facing several gun related charges.
Machado is being accused of buying guns for Castellanos, who wasn’t allowed to because of a burglary charge he had from Iowa, otherwise known as “straw purchasing.”
The two allegedly ran a scheme where Machado would buy the guns on Castellanos’ behalf and then sell them while he was being held at the ACI. Machado allegedly was able to buy two guns, while having applied to buy an additional three.
She is being charged with five counts of straw purchasing of a firearm, two counts of illegal sale of a concealable weapon, and one count of conspiracy to straw purchase a firearm.
Castellanos is being charged with two counts of possession of a pistol without a license, two counts of alteration of identifying marks on a firearm, two counts of solicitation to deliver a firearm without the proper paperwork, and conspiracy to straw purchase a firearm. He is currently serving a one-year-sentence at the ACI after being convicted of carrying a pistol without a license in February.
The attorney general’s office said that 34-year-old Brian Watson, of Pawtucket, was sentenced to up to five years at the ACI and a 10-year suspended sentence with 15 years of probation earlier this month.
Watson had been involved in a straw purchasing scheme last year, where Zaira Lozada purchased guns on his behalf. He was not allowed to buy guns for himself because of a prior conviction for domestic simple assault in 2017.
The pair allegedly sold five guns illegally.
Lozada’s case is still pending in Providence Superior Court.
