A Kissimmee couple has been sentenced to federal prison after pleading guilty to purchasing numerous firearms and selling them to individuals who used them in the commissions of crimes around the world.
On Thursday, March 21, Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Antoon II sentenced 35-year-old Kingsley Wilson to 3 years and 10 months in prison for dealing in firearms without a license, making a materially false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer, and causing the firearms dealer to maintain false information in its official records.
Wilson’s co-conspirator, 41-year-old Viviana Rodriguez, was also sentenced on March 21 to 2 years and 6 months in prison for the same offenses.
Following a multi-year investigation into their illicit activities, Wilson and Rodriguez were both indicted in 2023, and they ultimately pleaded guilty to the charges.
According to evidence presented in court, between January 2022 and July 2023, Wilson purchased 92 firearms from multiple gun dealers across the Middle District of Florida. During that same period, his girlfriend, Rodriguez, purchased an additional 48 firearms.
While purchasing the firearms, Wilson and Rodrgiuez both “falsely certified” on ATF Form 4473s (Firearm Transaction Records) that they were the “actual transferee/buyer” of the firearms.
Instead, Wilson and Rodriguez purchased the firearms for other individuals in exchange for monetary payments.
As of March 2024, a total of 24 firearms that were purchased by Wilson and Rodrgiuez have been recovered by law enforcement officials at crime scenes in the Bahamas and Canada.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case, with assistance from the Homeland Security Investigations, Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, and Royal Bahamas Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program that brings together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence.