Eric Celaya was sentenced last week to eight months in prison for buying two guns for Jaime Tran, who pleaded guilty in June to shooting two Jewish men in Los Angeles as they left synagogue on Feb. 15 and 16, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona stated on Nov. 1.
The 30-year-old Phoenix man was unaware that Tran intended to commit a crime, per the U.S. Justice Department. The Phoenix man pleased guilty on May 15 to making a false statement while buying a gun. After he serves his prison term, he will have three subsequent years of supervised release, per the Justice Department.
The two Jewish men survived the attacks.
Celaya bought the two guns in Tempe, Ariz., on Jan. 19, 2023. He wrote in the firearms transaction record form 4473 that he was the actual buyer, although he knew he was purchasing the weapons for Tran, per the Justice Department.
“Celaya had no prior criminal history and there was no evidence to show that Celaya was aware of Tran’s intentions or beliefs,” per the department.
Tran was sentenced to 35 years in prison last month for the hate crimes. “After years of spewing antisemitic vitriol, the defendant planned and carried out a two-day attack attempting to murder Jews leaving synagogue in Los Angeles,” stated Merrick Garland, the U.S. attorney general, at the time.
Per the Justice Department, Tran “obsessed over his antisemitic hatred for years leading up to the attack.”
