Wausau Pilot & Review
A Wausau woman is accused of making a false statement while purchasing firearms and will now face federal charges in the U.S. Western District Court of Wisconsin.
Ashley Zastrow, 31, was indicted in May by a federal grand jury in Madison, said Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin.
The indictment was unsealed following Zastrow’s arrest on Friday, August 5, in Marshfield by the Marshfield Police Department. She was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Madison yesterday and remains in federal custody. The trial in this matter has been set for Dec. 5 before U.S. District Judge William M. Conley.
The indictment charges Zastrow with making a false statement on a Firearms Transaction Record form required by federal law during the purchase of two firearms from a federally licensed firearms dealer on Jan. 13. The indictment alleges that she indicated on the form she was the actual buyer of the firearms, but in fact she was not the actual buyer. Making such a false statement during the purchase of a firearm is commonly known as a “straw purchase.”
If convicted, Zastrow faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. The charge against her is the result of an investigation by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Merrill Police Department, and Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance the Marshfield Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Kraus is handling the prosecution.
