Felon pleads to false statements in attempted gun buy

MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A Sharon Hill man pleaded guilty Tuesday to two counts of making false written statements by lying about his criminal past on firearm purchase forms.

Maleek Abdul Smith, 39, of the 600 block of Sharon Avenue, entered open pleas to both counts, felonies of the third degree, before Common Pleas Court Judge

Mary Alice Brennan. Sentencing is set for Dec. 4.

According to an affidavit of probable cause written by Delaware County Criminal Investigation Division Detective David Tyler, Smith entered the Suburban Armory gun store in Collingdale on March 3, 2019, and attempted to purchase a .40 cal. Glock semiautomatic firearm.

Smith has several felony convictions on his record that make him ineligible to buy or possess a firearm, according to the affidavit. These include two juvenile dispositions for felony robbery in Philadelphia in 1997 and 1998; felony firearm and drug violations in Scranton in 2000; and a felony forgery conviction in Chambersburg in 2013.

In filling out the standard Form 4473 required by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to purchase a firearm, Smith answered “no” to a question asking if he had ever been convicted of a felony or other crime for which he could have been imprisoned for more than one year, the affidavit says.

Smith also answered in the negative to a similar question on a Pennsylvania State Police firearms form, according to the affidavit. The dealer conducted a background check through the Pennsylvania Instant Check System, which revealed Smith’s criminal history.

Smith certified that the answers he gave in seeking to purchase a firearm were true and that he understood that making any false statement was a crime as a felony, according to the affidavit.

Assistant District Attorney Heater Hayes is prosecuting. No recommendation for a sentence was made due to the open nature of the plea, but a spokesperson for District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer indicated the crimes Smith pleaded to do not trigger a five-year mandatory minimum under the Brad Fox law, which imposes enhanced penalties on legal “straw” buyers who transfer firearms to convicted felons.