A 47-year-old Sylvester Mitchell from Las Vegas is facing up to five years in prison after being charged with selling hundreds of firearms without a license.
According to U.S. Attorney Dayle Elieson for the District of Nevada, Mitchell purchased about 438 firearms between January 2004 and November 2017. 199 of those firearms were purchased in 2017 alone for a total cost of $58,942.
42 of the firearms that were allegedly sold by Mitchell were recovered and found to have been illegally possessed, used in a crime, or suspected to have been used in a crime.
Mitchell allegedly sold the firearms over the internet without a license, according to Elieson. A criminal complaint that was unsealed on Thursday alleges that law enforcement officials conducted multiple undercover firearms purchases from Mitchell between June 1, 2017, and September 14, 2017. One of the firearms purchased was an AR-15 rifle.
The case is under investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, as well as the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Burton is prosecuting the case.
