Man sentenced for selling stolen guns to detective

EPHRATA — A Moses Lake man will be spending over five years in prison for selling two stolen guns to an undercover detective with the Grant County Sheriff’s Office.

Brandon Cirame, 28, of Moses Lake, pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen firearm and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. Grant County Superior Court Judge John Antosz followed a joint recommendation between Chief Deputy Prosecutor Alan White and defense attorney Stephen Kozer and sentenced Cirame to nearly 3.6 years on the stolen firearm charge and nearly two years on the unlawful firearm possession charge, with both sentences set to run consecutively. An additional count of possession of a stolen firearm, two counts of first-degree trafficking stolen property and four additional counts of second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm were dropped in a plea agreement between White and Kozer.

Cirame’s sentence dates back to Jan. 18, when he called a detective with the sheriff’s office in reference to several firearms he had for sale. Cirame and the detective had three additional follow-up phone calls and 35 text message conversations. They exchanged pictures, prices and plans of when and where to make the transaction for the guns. They agreed to meet at the Moses Lake Walmart and sell five guns in a package deal for $1,000, according to police records.

Cirame arrived at the Walmart parking lot about 10 p.m. and parked next to the detective in a 1997 Toyota Camry. He opened up the trunk of his vehicle and the transaction took place for the guns. He left the scene in the Camry and was later taken into custody without incident by GCSO patrol deputies at a gas station.

Cirame claimed that on Jan. 17 he traded a scooter to a man for a shotgun and also bought a “piece” of heroin from the man. He said on Jan. 18 he went to the same man’s house, whom he identified as his heroin dealer, and bought an additional piece of heroin and asked if he could get a ride to Moses Lake. He said he put his shotgun in the trunk of the man’s car and the man had four additional guns in the trunk, which he said he was going to sell. Cirame stated the man wanted $700 for the four guns.

“Cirame advised that he did not think the rifles were stolen because they are bigger, but he did assume some of the guns were stolen and that he had no way to check them,” wrote a deputy. “Cirame also stated he had not heard anything about them being stolen from houses.”

Cirame said he wanted $300 for the shotgun and told the drug dealer he would sell all five of the guns to another man, who he later learned was the undercover deputy, for $1,000 and give him the remaining $700. He said the car in which he made the deal for the guns belonged to his drug dealer.

Two of the five guns were previously reported a stolen, with one of the guns reported as stolen out of Ephrata and the other reported as stolen out of California. Cirame admitted to knowing his driver’s license was suspended and he was not allowed to be in possession of guns because he is a convicted felon.

Richard Byrd can be reached via email at city@columbiabasinherald.com.