Virginia Beach Police Target 'Straw Purchases' With New Arrests in Gun Investigation

Virginia Beach police say they are stepping up efforts against so-called straw purchases, a practice in which a person legally buys a firearm and then passes it on to someone barred from owning one, such as a felon or a minor.

In a press release published May 27, the Virginia Beach Police Department said officers carried out multiple search warrants on May 16. Investigators seized two firearms along with firearm parts and accessories.

Police arrested Vincent Elliott, 27, of Virginia Beach, who is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and conspiracy to sell a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Tyler Woleslagle, 25, also of Virginia Beach, was arrested and charged with providing a firearm to a convicted felon.

The investigation dates to January 2025, when officers arrested Alexis Guzman, 22, of Virginia Beach, on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Police say they have continued to look into how Guzman obtained the weapon since that arrest.

The case comes amid a broader push on gun enforcement. Last month, Police Chief Paul Neudigate delivered a pointed message to visitors: "Come to the beach. Have a great time, but if you are bringing a firearm, and you're not carrying it 100% in compliance with the law, we're going to find you, we're going to seize the firearm, and we're going to hold you criminally accountable."

That warning followed a Spring Break weekend at the Oceanfront that produced more than 50 arrests, many of them tied to gun charges. While enforcement at the Oceanfront continues, the department also operates a Crime Gun Investigative Squad that works across the city.

Sgt. Dana Roys, a member of the squad, said investigators do not focus on people simply because they buy guns. "We're not just randomly looking at people who are purchasing firearms. That's not what we do. We're taking the crime gun, the casings, or those associated to those events and trying to tie it all together," Roys said.

Roys explained that shell casings collected from multiple ShotSpotter alerts, a system used across Hampton Roads, can be linked to one another, as can the people connected to those incidents. Investigators can then trace a weapon back to its original purchaser to determine whether it was bought lawfully and how it ended up with a person who used it in a crime.

Anyone with information about this investigation, or about other possible illegal firearm possession, is asked to call the Virginia Beach Police Department at 757-385-4101 or Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP, or submit a tip at P3Tips.com.