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The Bucks County District Attorney Jennifer M. Schorn announced on Monday that a Delaware County man will serve 12 to 25 years in a state prison following his guilty plea in court. Authorities said that the man purchased firearms later used in violent crimes in the City of Philadelphia.
Tahir Zahir, 30, of Sharon Hill, was sentenced on Oct. 20, 2025 by Judge Stephen A. Corr to 12 to 25 years in a state prison, which will be followed by two years of consecutive probation, according to the release. Zahir pleaded guilty in August to the felony charges revolving around the purchase of firearm purchases.
Police said that Zahir committed unlawful activities, including making false statements on firearm purchase forms, unlawful sales of firearms, sales to an ineligible transferee, and fireship ownership. Additionally, Zahir was charged with criminal conspiracy.
Zahir was charged in December 2024, according to Schorn, for the role as a “straw purchaser,” or one who purchases firearms for another who is legally prohibited from owning one.
“The investigation discovered that Zahir purchased a total of 14 firearms between Aug. 8, 2018, and June 23, 2023,” said Schorn. “These purchases took place at gun stores across Bucks, Delaware, Lancaster, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties, including six firearms purchased at Auger Precision Firearms in Croydon and one from The Bunker Gun Shop II in Chalfont.”
Authorities reported that, of the 14 total weapons, five different guns were later recovered and directly linked to shootings and criminal activity in Philadelphia, including at least one homicide case in March 2020.
“The most egregious example involved a firearm used in a homicide in Philadelphia on March 31, 2020. Zahir purchased that specific gun 41 days before the killing and reported it stolen 42 days after the crime occurred,” said Schorn. “Another recovered weapon was found in the possession of a known Philadelphia gang member.”
Police said that, after an investigation, they’d concluded that Zahir displayed a number of “indicators” of being a straw purchaser. From buying a large number of guns in a short time frame, to buying the same firearm on multiple occasions, police deducted Zahir’s pattern of crimes. With the addition of many guns in Zahir’s name being discovered by law enforcement for involvement in violent activities, police were able to make the arrest.
“The Bucks County District Attorney's Office underscores its commitment to working with all law enforcement partners to tirelessly pursue and prosecute straw purchasers like Zahir,” said Schorn. “This sentence sends a clear message that we will continue to use every resource available to get illegal guns and the offenders who traffic them off our streets and out of our communities.”
The district attorney of Bucks County said that the overall investigation was conducted by a Middletown Township Detective who is a member of the Bucks County District Attorney’s Office Gun Violence Task Force, with assistance from Bucks County Detectives, from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Montgomery County Detectives, the Delaware County Narcotics and Gun Violence Task Force, the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office, and the Philadelphia Police Department. Deputy District Attorney Thomas C. Gannon prosecuted the case, according to Schorn.
