A Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police officer is under federal investigation after guns recovered from an arrested suspect were traced back to a purchase form bearing his name, according to multiple sources. The officer, who serves in CMPD’s Metro Division, has been placed on unpaid leave as the inquiry unfolds, and he has not been publicly identified because no charges have been filed.
According to WSOC-TV, the officer’s name turned up on the form used to purchase the firearms that were later recovered when a suspect was arrested while in possession of them. Sources cited by the station allege the officer was buying the guns for a convicted felon, though that allegation has not been confirmed through charging documents. CMPD placed the officer on unpaid leave effective September 30, the station reports.
The station is withholding the officer’s identity because no charges have been filed against him, and the evidence does not specify which federal agency is leading the investigation. It also remains unclear when the alleged purchases took place, how many firearms were involved, where they were bought, or who the arrested suspect was — details that have not been made public.
A Familiar Pattern in Federal Gun Cases
Straw purchasing — buying a firearm on someone else’s behalf, often to get around a background-check denial — has drawn increased federal attention in the Charlotte area. An ATF trafficking report found that among trafficking channels tied to firearms used in shootings, straw purchasing accounted for 24 percent and unlicensed dealing another 16 percent, according to the ATF. The agency’s broader methodology defines trafficking to include cases where even a single firearm is acquired through a suspected straw purchase, per a separate ATF report.
Federal officials have been publicly sounding the alarm on the issue. In a campaign highlighted by WCNC, ATF Special Agent Alicia Jones emphasized that illegally obtained firearms often end up being used in serious crimes or trafficked across state lines.
The Shannon Park Case Shows the Stakes
Charlotte has already seen what can follow when a straw-purchased firearm ends up in the wrong hands. Federal authorities arrested 42-year-old Natasha Renee Gibbs in Dallas, Texas, accusing her of making false statements to buy firearms that prosecutors say she later gave to Terry Hughes Jr., according to QC News.
Prosecutors allege Gibbs bought a Taurus 9mm pistol in October 2021 and a Radical Firearms RF-15 rifle in October 2023, and the indictment accuses her of illegally giving a firearm to Hughes between October 2023 and April 29, 2024, while knowing or having reason to know he was prohibited from possessing firearms, QC News reports. Authorities said Hughes opened fire during an hours-long standoff in Charlotte’s Shannon Park neighborhood that day, firing more than 100 rounds before he was killed by police. The shooting claimed the lives of four law enforcement officers: CMPD Officer Joshua Eyer, Deputy U.S. Marshal Thomas Weeks Jr., and North Carolina Department of Adult Correction officers William “Alden” Elliott and Samuel Poloche.
