Friday, Dec. 28, 2012

WEBSTER, N.Y. (AP) -- As a convicted felon, he wasn't supposed to have access to the guns he used to kill two firefighters and wound two others in a Christmas Eve ambush near Rochester, N.Y. And now, authorities are disclosing how William Spengler allegedly got those guns.

They are charging a woman with acting as a "straw purchaser" -- posing as the buyer of the guns, when they were actually going to go to Spengler.

Dawn Nguyen is facing state and federal charges. They're connected to the purchase of a semiautomatic rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun that Spengler had with him Monday morning when firefighters responded to a fire he had set. After killing two firefighters and wounding two others, Spengler took his own life.

According to a federal prosecutor, Nguyen told the seller of the guns in June of 2010 that she was the true owner and buyer -- but she was in fact buying them on behalf of Spengler.

When she was interviewed hours after the shootings, she told police that she had bought the guns for personal protection and that they were stolen from her.

Police say she later admitted she bought the guns for Spengler. And they say that's consistent with a suicide note that was found near his body.

(Copyright 2012, The Associated Press)