4 arrested, 19 guns seized after Monroeville Gun Show surveillance

Four people are charged with firearms offenses and 19 guns were seized following a joint surveillance operation by the state attorney general’s office and the Monroeville police at the Pittsburgh Gun Show in Monroeville.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro on Monday announced the arrests and gun seizures. They took place the weekend of Feb. 6-7.

David Fields, Tanesha Olverson, Robert Raglin and Elizabeth Rexrode were arrested at the gun show and charged with illegal straw purchases of firearms, officials said. Olverson, Raglin and Rexrode are from Allegheny County. Voter records show Rexrode is from Monroeville; Raglin is from Pittsburgh and Overson is from Duquesne.

A straw purchase occurs when someone buys a gun for a person who is prohibited by law from possessing one or for someone who does not want his or her name associated with the transaction. A straw purchase is a federal crime.

“Straw purchases are fueling the gun violence epidemic that takes the lives of Pennsylvanians every single day,” said Shapiro. “The office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Section, along with our local law enforcement partners, are working overtime to target these gun traffickers and get illegal guns off our streets.”

Among the straw purchases observed by agents during the gun show were a transaction by a straw purchaser who bought an Uzi and long gun for Fields using money Fields passed to the purchaser, officials said. Fields was arrested by agents, who obtained a search warrant for his home, where they said they recovered 13 additional guns.

Olverson was seen purchasing an AR-15 rifle while being accompanied by Raglin, a known gun trafficker according to the Attorney General’s office. Following the straw purchase, Olverson was interviewed by agents. A search was conducted on her vehicle, where agents said they seized a Glock 19 handgun and $6,000 in cash.

Rexrode, a fugitive, received cash and approached a vendor to a purchase a firearm for another person, officials said.

The investigation is ongoing, Shapiro said.