A domestic incident in February led Warren police officers to get the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms involved in what turned out to be a series of straw purchases of firearms from two Warren businesses.

Two Buffalo residents face several felony charges in Pennsylvania involving false statements involving the sale or transfer of firearms in April after an investigation by a Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Criminal Investigation detective who is attached to the federal ATF bureau. Alexander E. Jones, 33, of Buffalo, is charged with six counts of third-degree felony selling or transfer of firearm – false written statement while Julia Rose Carter, 33, of Buffalo,

is charged with 12 counts of third-degree felony materially false written statement – purchase, delivery, transfer of firearm; 12 counts of loans on, or lending, giving firearms prohibited; and 12 counts of statement under penalty.

Carter was formally arraigned earlier this week in the Court of Common Pleas in front of Judge Todd Woodin.

A preliminary hearing in the case against Jones has been continued and now rescheduled for June 24 before Magisterial District Court Judge Laura Bauer. His case is likely to be transferred from the Magisterial District Court to the Court of Common Pleas.

Warren police began the investigation after a verbal domestic incident on Feb. 18, between Carter and Jones. Carter told police Jones was threatening her because she was unwilling to purchase another firearm for him. When police questioned Carter, she said she had already purchased five firearms for Jones at Dunham’s Sports and Tall Tales Sporting Goods in Warren. There is allegedly video evidence of two of the purchases at Dunham’s Sports.

“Carter also stated that Jones transported the firearms to Rochester and Buffalo, New York, and sold them,” the Affidavit of Probable Cause states. “Officers did view a money transaction from Jones to Carter on Jones’s cellular device that stated Dunham’s. It should be noted, body camera footage was obtained from the officer who handled this incident.”

The case was referred to a Pennsylvania State Trooper who is a sworn task force officer for the U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives based in Erie. The trooper said in March, he obtained required state and federal paperwork that had been completed by Carter for firearms purchases from March 18, 2025, through Feb. 28, 2026 – after Warren police were made aware of the prior five purchases in Warren County.

“Shortly after the domestic disturbance, it was discovered Carter purchased an additional firearm on February 28, 2026, after she was advised by law enforcement that (what) she was doing was against the law and considered ‘straw’ purchasing,” the affidavit states.

In Pennsylvania, making a materially false written statement on a firearm application – typically ATF Form 4473 or PA SP4-113 – is punishable by up to seven years in prison and $15,000 in fines. Those charged with false written statements typically have allegedly knowingly and intentionally made false oral or written statements, or shown a false ID, when purchasing, delivering, or transferring a firearm. Common falsehoods in these investigations, according to the Goldstein Mehta LLC law firm’s website, include lying about criminal history, mental health commitments or acting as a straw purchaser.

Jones was also charged with six counts of loans on, or lending, giving firearms prohibited and six counts of misdemeanor statement under penalty while Carter faces 12 counts of loans on, or lending, giving firearms prohibited and 12 counts of misdemeanor statement under penalty. State law prohibits lending or transferring firearms unless the recipient is licensed to carry a firearm, the recipient is exempt from needing a license, the exchange takes place within a sanctioned firearms training program or NRA-approved competition, the firearm is given to a minor under close supervision by a responsible adult over the age of 21 who isn’t prohibited from having firearms, the recipient is lawfully hunting or trapping, the firearm is given inside one’s home and stays in that location.