Demia Burell-Brinkley. (Credit: Bucks County District Attorney's Office)
A Delaware County woman has been sentenced to 8 to 20 years in state prison for illegally purchasing firearms that were later used in violent crimes, including a fatal shooting in Philadelphia.
Demia Burell-Brinkley, 31, of Lansdowne, pleaded guilty in March to multiple felony charges, including dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, making false statements on firearm purchase forms, unlawful sales of firearms, sales to an ineligible transferee, firearm ownership violations, and criminal conspiracy.
Between July 2020 and May 2022, Burell-Brinkley purchased four firearms on three separate occasions from gun stores in Bucks and Montgomery counties. She then sold each weapon for approximately $200.
One of these firearms, a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol bought on July 28, 2020, in Lafayette Hill, was linked to a fatal shooting in Philadelphia less than a month later.
Ballistics testing matched a cartridge found at the crime scene to the weapon purchased by Burell-Brinkley.
Further investigations revealed that two Glock firearms she acquired in February 2021 from a store in Croydon, Bucks County, were later recovered in Philadelphia from individuals prohibited from owning firearms. One of these Glocks was also connected to another shooting incident. The fourth firearm, purchased in May 2022 from a Norristown gun store, has not yet been recovered.
Notably, Burell-Brinkley did not report any of the firearms as stolen, a tactic often used by straw purchasers to distance themselves from crimes committed with the weapons they illegally obtain.
Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey L. Finley, who presided over the case, also ordered Burell-Brinkley to be prohibited from possessing any firearms or ammunition.
This case underscores the ongoing efforts by the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Philadelphia Police Department to identify and prosecute individuals involved in straw purchasing schemes, which pose significant threats to public safety.
Deputy District Attorney Thomas C. Gannon led the prosecution for the Bucks County D.A.'s office.
