Woman Sentenced to Month in Jail for Making False Statement on Firearm Purchase Form While Straw-Purchasing for Juvenile

NORFOLK, Va. — Tiyana Monae Johnson, 25, was sentenced on Wednesday to serve 30 days in jail after she pleaded guilty to making a false statement on a background-check form required for a firearm purchase last year when she purchased a gun on behalf of a teenager who was arrested months later while possessing the gun.

On Sept. 1, 2023, Norfolk Police officers pulled over a vehicle for traffic violations and detained the several teenagers who were inside after the officers found multiple firearms in their possession. Among the teenagers was 18-year-old Samonte Hill-Smallwood, who was found in possession of a Glock G23 .40 caliber handgun with an illegal 30-round extended magazine. After being advised of his Miranda rights, Mr. Hill-Smallwood told officers that his friend, Ms. Johnson, had purchased the Glock for him at a Norfolk gun shop as a gift. Ms. Johnson was not present in the vehicle and was not responsible for the extended magazine affixed to the firearm.

Investigators confirmed with the gun shop that Ms. Johnson had filled out the information and criminal history check form and purchased the Glock in March 2023 — when Mr. Hill-Smallwood was still 17 years old — using a card with Mr. Hill-Smallwood’s billing information. Investigators contacted Ms. Johnson, and she admitted that Mr. Hill-Smallwood was with her when she purchased the Glock. She initially claimed that the gun was stolen a few months after she purchased it, but later admitted to buying the gun on Mr. Hill-Smallwood’s behalf.

Mr. Hill-Smallwood was found guilty in December 2023 of possessing the illegal extended magazine that was attached to the Glock following a bench trial in Norfolk General District Court.

Based on their investigation, police charged Ms. Johnson with purchasing a firearm with the intent to transfer it to an ineligible person. Ms. Johnson entered an agreement on Wednesday to plead guilty to making a false statement on a firearms background-check form — a felony — and agreed to serve one month in jail with another one year and 11 months in prison suspended on the conditions that she complete two years of uniform good behavior and supervised probation following her release. Judge David W. Lannetti accepted Ms. Johnson’s plea agreement and sentenced her per the agreement.

“Ms. Johnson committed the premeditated crime of straw purchasing: lying to buy a gun to put it in the hands of someone for whom possessing it was illegal,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “Ms. Johnson’s crime was dangerous and unjustifiable. As someone convicted of a felony, she has now forfeited the right to possess a gun herself. We will continue to fight the flow of illegal guns into the hands of those who should not have them.”

Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Anthony J. Comento prosecuted Ms. Johnson’s and Mr. Hill-Smallwood’s cases on behalf of the Commonwealth, and Norfolk Police Detective Kyle G. Phillips led the investigation.

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