Attempted “Straw” Firearm Purchaser Sentenced to One Year in Prison
MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Taylor A. Kratochwill-Loomis, 22, DeForest, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to one year and one day in prison for making false statements while attempting to purchase a firearm for a prohibited person. This is commonly known as a “straw purchase.” Kratochwill-Loomis pled guilty to this offense on January 18, 2023.
On November 30, 2021, Kratochwill-Loomis entered Top Pack Defense, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin and attempted to purchase a Glock handgun for Deontrae McIntosh, who was prohibited from purchasing a handgun because of his age and the fact that he was facing felony charges in Wisconsin State court. Her attempted transaction was video recorded through the store’s surveillance system. On the required purchase forms, Kratochwill-Loomis falsely stated that she was purchasing the firearm for herself and not for another person. McIntosh also pled guilty to attempting to obtain a firearm using false statements—through Kratochwill-Loomis—and was sentenced to five years of probation on March 22, 2023.
Top Pack Defense Staff refused to sell the firearm, correctly suspecting that Kratochwill-Loomis was attempting to purchase the handgun for another person. Immediately following that failed attempt, Kratochwill-Loomis and McIntosh, who was waiting in a car outside, went to the Cabela’s store in Sun Prairie, where Kratochwill-Loomis again tried to purchase a Glock handgun for McIntosh. Sun Prairie police investigators interrupted the second purchase attempt at Cabela’s, interviewing and ultimately arresting Kratochwill-Loomis and McIntosh.
In sentencing Kratochwill-Loomis, Judge Conley stated, “Gun violence is out of control. Straw purchasers fuel the problem by placing firearms in the hands of prohibited persons.”
U.S. Attorney O’Shea said, “Each week we learn anew—over and over and over—about the danger guns pose when they fall into the wrong hands. Straw purchasers, those who lie to obtain firearms for others, are part of the problem. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, together with our law enforcement partners and in cooperation with licensed firearm dealers, has zero tolerance for straw purchasers who buy or attempt to buy firearms for people who cannot legally purchase them.”
The charges against Kratochwill-Loomis and McIntosh were the result of an investigation conducted by Sun Prairie Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. U.S. Attorney O’Shea prosecuted this case.
