AUBURN — A Lewiston man convicted in federal court of heading up an illegal gun-buying conspiracy admitted Thursday in state court to assault and burglary crimes.
Abdullahi Issak Androscoggin County Jail photo
Abdullahi “T” Issak, 27, had been facing nearly a dozen charges in four separate cases dating back to 2021.
He appeared Thursday in Androscoggin County Superior Court via videoconference from federal prison, where he is serving a 10-year sentence for the federal felony crimes of gun possession by a felon and conspiracy to violate federal firearm laws.
Federal prosecutors said Issak conspired over seven months ending July 2022 to have 36 guns bought for him at federal firearms dealers shops throughout central and southern Maine.
Issak directed the buyers, or “straw” purchasers, where to buy the guns, which ones to buy and gave them cash or drugs in return for engaging in the illegal transactions, prosecutors said.
He took possession of the guns from those straw purchasers after each sale, prosecutors said.
Issak pleaded guilty to the two charges in U.S. District Court last year and was sentenced in November.
He will serve all of the sentences imposed on him Thursday in Androscoggin County Superior Court at the same time as his federal sentence, according to the terms of his pleas.
Issak pleaded guilty Thursday to a charge of domestic violence assault, a misdemeanor for which he was sentenced to nine months in jail.
That charge stems from his Jan. 23, 2021, assault on a woman at her Lewiston apartment where he choked and slapped her, according to police reports.
He also pleaded guilty to burglary of a debit card from the same victim in the domestic violence assault. Issak was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison for that felony.
Issak pleaded guilty Thursday to an assault charge stemming from his conduct on Jan. 24, 2021, when he used a bat to assault a man at his Auburn apartment, sending the man to the hospital with a head laceration, according to a police report.
Issak also pleaded guilty to a charge of violation of condition of release for having contact with his ex-girlfriend on Jan. 9, 2022, at an Auburn hotel, police reported.
All other charges against Issak, including aggravated assault, stalking and obstructing report of a crime were dismissed.
In his federal gun possession conviction last year, Issak had gotten from one of his “straw” buyers a gun that had been bought for him from a federal firearms dealer in Jay.
At that time, Issak had been prohibited from having firearms due to a 2019 New York felony conviction, according to federal court records.
Among the guns illegally obtained by Issak were 18 Glock 9 mm pistols, five Glock .40-caliber pistols, six Glock .45-caliber pistols and assorted other handguns, according to federal court documents.
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