A Blaine man pleaded guilty Thursday to straw purchasing dozens of guns, some of which were tied to criminal activity across the Twin Cities, including the killings of two young girls in the summer of 2021.
The federal charges against William Burton said that he bought 43 firearms between November 2019 and August 2020. By April 2025, 17 of the guns had been found under circumstances associated with criminal activity.
He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements in the purchasing of firearms. If his plea is accepted, the other charges against him — making false statements during the purchase of a firearm and destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation — will be dropped.
Charging documents said the gun used in the murder of 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith, who was shot while jumping on a trampoline during a birthday party, was recovered during a traffic stop in October 2021. Burton had bought the gun in May of 2020. Dpree Robinson was sentenced to more than 37 years in prison for killing her.
The criminal complaint also said that in March 2024, Minneapolis police found a handgun that Burton bought four years earlier behind the bar of a saloon. Analysis showed the gun had been used in 10 different instances, including in the fatal shooting of 6-year-old Aniya Allen. Allen was hit in the head by a stray bullet while she was sitting in a car with her mother. Her killing remains unsolved.
If his plea is accepted, Burton will be sentenced to between two years and three months and two years and nine months with a supervised release of one to three years. He could also be fined anywhere between $10,000 and $95,000.
Burton will be sentenced on Dec. 17.
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