TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - A 42-year-old convicted felon faces nearly 16 years in prison after being convicted of arranging to have a friend fraudulently obtain multiple guns held in the custody of Tucson police.
A Pima County Superior Court judge this month sentenced Phillip Johnson to 15 years and nine months in prison on jury convictions for fraud, illegally conducting a criminal enterprise and conspiracy.
The state Attorney General’s Office on Tuesday said Johnson couldn’t legally possess firearms because of his multiple felony convictions so he recruited the friend in 2017 to file an affidavit falsely claiming he owned the 32 seized guns.
According to the Attorney General’s Office, Tucson police discovered the scheme and seized the guns while they were still in a van provided by Johnson.
Johnson fled from the courthouse last August before jurors returned guilty verdicts against him and he was arrested in January in Riverside, California.
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