Rocky Mount Man Arrested for Allegedly Buying and Selling Guns to Felons

Department of Justice U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of North Carolina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, December 3, 2021

GREENVILLE, N.C. – A Rocky Mount man was arrested yesterday on charges of selling firearms to felons and making false statements to federally licensed firearms dealers to purchase the firearms.

According to court documents, Kyristepher Wilford, 24, allegedly purchased firearms and then sold the firearms to convicted felons.  Wilford also allegedly made false statements on the forms required to purchase the firearms, stating that he was the intended buyer or transferee of the guns when he was actually purchasing the guns for other people.  The crimes are alleged to have occurred from February 2019 through June 2020.

Wilford is charged with two counts of selling or otherwise disposing of a firearm knowing and having reasonable cause to believe such a person is prohibited; two counts of knowingly making a materially false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer while purchasing a firearm; and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.  Wilford faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted.

Michael F. Easley, Jr., U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives and the Rocky Mount Police Department are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney John Parris is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:21-cr-00126-D.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.