Middleton woman accused of buying a gun for a felon (2024)

A Middleton woman is facing a federal indictment alleging that she bought a gun with the intent of giving it to a felon.

A federal grand jury in Madison returned charges of straw purchasing a firearm for a felon, conspiring to violate the law prohibiting felons from possessing firearms and lying on a firearms purchase form against 34-year-old Shawna Tantillo of Middleton earlier this month.

A straw purchase is when someone buys a gun for someone not legally able to own one, or for someone who does not want their name associated with the purchase.

Tantillo is accused of buying a Bersa Thunder .380 handgun from a Cross Plains gun store on Nov. 28 on behalf of a felon, identified in the indictment as “Person 1.”

After picking the weapon up from the store on Dec. 8, Tantillo gave it to the person in exchange for the purchase price plus $150, the indictment said. Tantillo had written on the purchase form that the gun was for herself, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A woman named Shawna Tantillo identified herself in February as a friend and neighbor of Jessica Jessmon, who police say killed her children and shot their father before killing herself in February. Jessmon had multiple felonies in her criminal history and could not legally purchase a gun.

Authorities have not said if the cases were related.

A Bersa Thunder .380 handgun was found at the scene of the shootings inside Jessmon’s apartment, according to a search warrant in the case.

“This case is part of an active federal investigation, and as such, if we comment on it, we may cause irreparable harm to the ongoing investigation and prosecution,” a spokesperson for the Middleton Police Department said in a statement.

That spokesman said the U.S. Attorney’s Office has requested that media inquiries go through that office. U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson Meredith duch*emin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In the days after the murder-suicide, Tantillo told the State Journal that she considered Jessmon her best friend and described her as “the strongest girl I know.”

“We became one big family,” Tantillo said. “I love her like my sister. She is my family by choice, and I will forever love her, and my kids and I are so incredibly lucky to have her as a neighbor and to have met her.”

The charges against Tantillo follow an investigation led by the Middleton and Fitchburg police departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The conspiracy and false statement charges each carry penalties of up to five years in prison. A straw purchase conviction could net Tantillo up to 15 years in prison.

Tantillo did not return a voicemail left for her Friday.