COLUMBUS – A northeast Ohio man has been arrested and charged with acting as a “straw purchaser” who bought the gun used to kill two Westerville police officers and providing it to the suspect in the case.
Gerald Lawson III, of Warrensville Heights, was arrested today by federal agents on a charge of aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and made a brief appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kimberly Jolson Monday where he was not required to enter a plea. A bond hearing is set for Wednesday.
The charges allege that Lawson, 30, acted as a straw purchaser for Quentin Smith, who is prohibited from purchasing or possessing a firearm because he is a convicted felon, and bought the gun in Broadview Heights, according to a statement from Benjamin Glassman, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Trevor Velinor, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Smith was charged Sunday with two counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Officers Anthony Morelli and Eric Joering.
He was sentenced to three years in prison in 2009 on a burglary conviction out of Cleveland with an added enhancement of having a gun.
Ronald Herndon, the assistant Special Agent in Charge for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Columbus, says tips from the community, social media posts and a gun trace led to the arrest.
Authorities say a witness told investigators Smith provided Lawson money for the Glock firearm linked to Saturday’s fatal shooting of Morelli and Joering, as well as an extra $100.
The two men had been friends for a long time and Glassman and Velinor say a review of Lawson’s social media account after the incident showed three photographs of both of the men together and a comment by Lawson associated with the post which “referenced the long-standing friendship between the two.”
Aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by a prohibited person is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien says Smith could be eligible for the death penalty because the victims were police officers killed in the line of duty.