A Phoenix man, Dwayne Keith Anderson, has been was sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty to selling a firearm to Essa Williams, the suspect in the shooting of Phoenix Police Department Officer Tyler Moldovan.
Anderson’s prison sentence is to be followed by three years of supervised release.
Anderson, age 51, was a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL), doing business as 602 Firearms Instruction L.L.C. in Phoenix, Arizona. Anderson met Essa Williams at a gun show, where he told Williams he could assist him with firearm sales by helping him avoid a background check. Williams had several felony convictions, had previously been sentenced to the Arizona Department of Corrections, and therefore could not legally possess a firearm.
On December 13, 2021, Williams texted Anderson about purchasing a firearm and sent false information for a female, including a photo of her driver’s license. Anderson filled out the Firearms Transaction Record with the false information and signature of the female. Although Anderson knew that the purchaser of the firearm must fill out the Firearms Transaction Record, Anderson completed the form with the false information. Anderson sold Williams a Masterpiece Arms Defender 9mm pistol, using the false information provided by Williams. Anderson had never met the female, and only saw Williams again when he arrived at Anderson’s house that night to pick up the firearm.
Williams is pending trial in Maricopa County Superior Court for allegedly shooting Phoenix Police Department (PPD) Officer Tyler Moldovan on December 14, 2021. The Masterpiece Arms Defender 9mm pistol was not the firearm that was used to shoot Officer Moldovan. Pursuant to a search warrant, PPD detectives searched Williams’ black Dodge Charger after the shooting of Officer Moldovan, locating the Masterpiece Arms Defender 9mm pistol on the back seat floorboard.