PHOENIX — Three people have pleaded guilty to helping to supply firearms to the man accused of shooting Phoenix Police Officer Tyler Moldovan eight times in December 2021, federal officials said.
Essa Williams was taken into custody shortly after he allegedly shot the young officer several times near 19th Avenue and Camelback Road on Dec. 14, 2021.
The U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona announced Tuesday that Williams' mother, 51-year-old Erika LaRae Williams, had recently pleaded guilty to making false statements while buying a firearm.
In September 2020, Williams allegedly bought a Taurus G3 pistol and made it appear the weapon was for herself. But prosecutors claim Williams actually bought the gun for her son, who had been released from prison a few months prior.
Bernard Zapor is a retired ATF Special Agent in Charge and says that's commonly called a 'straw man' purchase and usually isn't found unless it's used in a crime.
"It's not easy to get away with, but it's very easy for it to go undetected," Zapor said. "Primarily because firearms transact in the United States in huge numbers outside of the licensee process."
Alice Berdicchia, 24, has also pleaded guilty to giving Essa Williams a gun a few weeks before the Moldovan shooting. Prosecutors said Berdicchia allegedly knew Williams was not legally authorized to possess a firearm at this time.
"It's one that we see as common, that someone lies to a federally licensed firearms dealer or otherwise in an improper manner gets a firearm to a felon," US Attorney for the District of Arizona Gary Restaino said.
Dwayne Keith Anderson, 51, has pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting after he allegedly helped Essa Williams skirt around a background check to purchase a 9mm pistol.
The day before Moldovan was shot, Williams allegedly texted info about another person's identity to Anderson, which he then used to complete a background check and sell the gun to Williams.
Phoenix police detectives found the gun Anderson sold to Williams on the back seat of Williams' vehicle on Dec. 14, 2021.
Restaino and Zapor both said most often licensed gun dealers are dealing with purchasers in legal ways. However, Restaino said those that aren't, need to be prosecuted.
However, the issue of people having guns who shouldn't have them is persisting, even after Moldovan was shot.
"There's lots of guns out there," Interim Phoenix Police Chief Michael Sullivan told 12News last week. "If you're a convicted felon, it's not hard, obviously to get a gun because we see folks that shouldn't have them have them all the time."
But tracking guns in the hands of people who shouldn't have them isn't easy given the scale of the issue compared to the number of investigators, Zapor says.
"Technology and intelligence-led policing has made for some improvements that, at a minimum, start to identify firearms trafficking and firearms trafficking," Zapor said.
While Restaino said there are some ways to track when someone buys multiple rifles or shotguns along Southwest border states, most tracking is intelligence-based.
"A lot of it is simply Intel work, trying to get a sense and reacting after the fact to ensure that firearms stay out of the wrong hands. It's deterrence, in other words, is a big piece. Education is another big piece," Restaino said.
As for if charges in the case are enough of a deterrent to prevent people from getting guns into the hands of people who shouldn't have them, Restaino said those charges can be.
"I think people are going to see that a former federally licensed firearms dealer is no longer a federally licensed firearms dealer and is going to be a felon. That's going to send a message - certainly to that person for specific deterrence, and we think it will have a general deterrence as well," Restaino said.
Prosecutors said none of the guns Erika Williams, Anderson, or Berdicchia gave to Essa Williams were used to allegedly shoot Moldovan.
According to initial court documents, a fourth gun recovered at the scene is believed to be what Essa Williams used to shoot Moldovan.
The officer was initially placed on life support after the shooting and has undergone several months of physical therapy to recover from his injuries.
All three defendants tied to Essa Williams will be sentenced later this year and each could face years in prison. Essa Williams' criminal charges against Moldovan remain pending in Maricopa County.