JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A St. Augustine man was sentenced to four years in prison for illegally selling firearms, according to the Department of Justice.
Alton Wayne Cope III, 64, was sentenced to four years and three months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon and conspiring to deal firearms without a license.
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He entered a guilty plea in Oct. 2024.
During the summer of 2024, agents purchased 11 firearms from Cope and a co-conspirator. The investigation showed that Braden Hobbs was the original purchaser of those firearms.
Officials said cell phone records showed the co-conspirator regularly purchased firearms from Hobbs.
The DOJ said at least two of the firearms sold by Cope and a co-conspirator had previously been reported stolen.
Agents found an additional firearm in his bedroom after executing a search warrant in August 2024.
Cope was previously convicted of multiple felonies, including two counts of possession of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Hobbs was charged and is scheduled for trial later this year. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to 95 years.
This case was investigated by federal agencies, the FDLE, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.