VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Efforts to enhance public safety continue in Virginia Beach as police make arrests involving what’s called straw purchases. That is when someone buys a gun legally and then sells it to someone prohibited from owning a firearm, such as a felon or a minor.
On May 27, the Virginia Beach Police Department published a press release stating that its officers executed multiple search warrants on May 16 and seized two firearms, as well as firearm parts and accessories. They arrested Vincent Elliott (M/27) of Virginia Beach, who is now charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and conspiracy to sell a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Tyler Woleslagle (F/25) of Virginia Beach has also been arrested and charged with providing a firearm to a convicted felon.
Officers have been following this investigation since January 2025 after they arrested Alexis Guzman (M/22) of Virginia Beach and charged him with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Since the arrest, VBPD officers say they have continued to investigate how Guzman acquired the firearm.
Last month, Chief Paul Neudigate of the Virginia Beach Police Department issued a stern warning, stating, “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.”
This initiative follows a Spring Break weekend at the Oceanfront where more than 50 arrests were made, many related to gun charges. While enforcement efforts at the Oceanfront proceed, the police department has a Crime Gun Investigative Squad that operates city-wide.
Sergeant Dana Roys, a member of the squad, explained their approach: “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 went on, “Say we receive multiple ShotSpotter cases which are used throughout Hampton Roads, those casings can be linked, those associated persons to those situations, can be linked and then we can then trace that back to the original purchaser of that firearm to see whether or not it was lawfully purchased and see essentially how it came into the hands of a person who used it in a crime."
Anyone with information pertaining to the investigation mentioned above or another case of potential illegal possession of a firearm is asked to contact VBPD at 757-385-4101 or Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP OR P3Tips.com.
