Lancaster man pleads guilty to selling firearms without a license

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) — A North Texas man faces up to five years in prison after pleading guilty Wednesday to federal gun offenses, officials said.

Armani Morris, 22, from Lancaster, is accused of selling weapons in July 2022 despite not having a license to do so. By law, any firearms dealer must hold a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and conduct customer due diligence. In August, he was charged.

According to his plea papers, Morris admitted to selling at least 52 weapons between 2021 and 2022. On December 16, 2021, ATF agents served Morris with a cease-and-desist letter explaining that his behavior was illegal. Officials said Morris ignored the warning and continued buying and selling guns.

On April 7, 2022, ATF agents met with Morris at his home. According to officials, he told them that he had read the cease-and-desist letter but did not want to sign it. When the agents presented evidence to Morris that he had purchased 54 firearms, he admitted that he could only fully explain two of them. Morris also admitted that he had spent all his money on the guns with the intention of selling them for a profit.

Even after this confrontation, Morris continued to sell guns without a license, according to officials. The ATF launched an undercover investigation and was able to buy a total of seven firearms from Morris on four occasions in the summer of 2022. The weapons sold included two AR-style pistols and Glock pistol complete with switch which allowed it fire automatically like a machine gun.

Morris now faces up to five years in prison. His sentence has not yet been set.