Columbia man charged with handgun straw purchase

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)

Prosecutors charged a Columbia man Tuesday with buying a handgun illegally for a minor.

Deangelo D. Washington Jr. was being held Wednesday without bond in the Boone County Jail on a felony count of illegally transferring a handgun.

Investigators allege Washington purchased the gun for someone else, a practice known as a "straw purchase." That person was under the legal age to own a handgun, according to the heavily redacted probable cause statement.

The gun was found in late February as Boone County deputies served a search warrant related to a murder investigation, according to a probable cause statement. The statement does not describe the murder case and does not say Washington was involved in any homicide.

Investigators found messages on the gun buyer's phone arranging for Washington to make the straw purchase, the statement says.

Washington has a hearing set for 1 p.m. Wednesday.