Former Cornell Student Enters Guilty Plea

Former Cornell University student, Charles Tan plead guilty Friday to crimes related to the unlawful purchase of a firearm that was used to kill his father in 2015. As part of his guilty plea, Tan admitted that in February 2015 he had a fellow Cornell University student make an unlawful “straw purchase” of a 12-gauge shotgun for him.  Tan admitted to falsely telling the fellow student that he needed the firearm for hunting, when his actual intent was that it be used to shoot his father. Sentencing is scheduled for October 18th in Syracuse. The defendant faces a sentence of up to 25 years in prison.