ST PAUL, Minn. — A Blaine man has admitted to making false statements when buying firearms later traced to high-profile Twin Cities crimes.
William Earl Burton appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Paul Thursday in front of Judge Susan Richardson Nelson, pleading guilty to a charge of conspiracy to make false statements in the purchasing of firearms. He will be sentenced on Dec. 17.
Prosecutors alleged Burton purchased dozens of guns, claiming they were for his own use, when he intended to sell them for a profit. Some of those guns were linked to shootings like the May 2021 murder of 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith, who was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between rivals while jumping on a trampoline. The convicted shooter, Dpree Robinson, is serving a 37-year prison sentence…