NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A Newport News man is facing 25 years in prison after pleading guilty to asking his cousin to purchase a firearm for him. The firearm was later used in three local shootings.
According to the Department of Justice, 21-year-old Kahlil Rashad Armstrong pleaded guilty Monday to charges of aiding and abetting making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, and to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm.
In early 2021, then 20-year-old Armstrong asked his older cousin to buy a handgun for him since he was not old enough to purchase it himself.
In February of that year, Armstrong’s cousin made false oral and written statements to a local licensed firearm dealer in order to straw-purchase the firearm for Armstrong.
Months later in July, that same firearm was recovered by police at the crime scene of a local rival gang shootout approximately 125 days after it was purchased.
Forensic ballistics confirmed the firearm had been used in two other shootings, once on May 2, 2021, resulting in property damage, and once on February 21, 2021, the same day it was purchased.
In May of this year, Armstrong’s cousin and co-defendant, Destiny Na’iymah Davis, 23, pleaded guilty to her role in the unlawful straw-purchase of the firearm. She faces a maximum of 5 years behind bars when she is sentenced on December 5.
Armstrong is scheduled to be sentenced on March 30, 2023, where faces a total maximum of 25 years in prison for both charges.