A Blaine man is accused of illegally buying dozens of guns that investigators say have, over the past five years, ended up tied to criminal activity across the Twin Cities, including the killings of two young children in the summer of 2021.

William Burton, 26, faces federal charges for allegedly making false statements while buying firearms. The affidavit says he certified that he was buying the firearms for himself, but instead he would sell them to others.

According to the complaint, Burton bought at least 41 handguns in the nine-month span between November 2019 and August 2020. By September 2020, five of the guns he bought had been recovered by police, and by April 2025, 17 of the guns had been found under circumstances associated with criminal activity.  

In one of the instances, police conducted a traffic stop outside the Eagan Outlet Mall in October 2021 on a report of shoplifting. While searching the car, officers found a 9mm gun, which Burton had allegedly bought on May 28, 2020. 

According to cartridge casing analysis, the gun was used in the murder of Trinity Ottoson-Smith, a 9-year-old girl who was shot while jumping on a trampoline during a birthday party. She died 12 days later in the hospital. Dpree Robinson was sentenced to more than 37 years in prison for killing Ottoson-Smith.

The criminal complaint also says that in March 2024, Minneapolis police found a handgun that Burton bought in March 2020 behind the bar of a saloon. Analysis showed the gun had been used in 10 different instances, including in the fatal shooting of 6-year-old Aniya Allen. 

Allen was hit in the head by a stray bullet while she was sitting in a car with her mother. Her killing remains unsolved.

Her family says it's the first break in the case since she was killed. 

"The monster who started it all. The monster that gave the gun to the monster that did it," said K.G. Wilson, Allen's grandfather.

Wilson says he hopes Burton will give up information that will lead to the arrest of his granddaughter's killer.

"[Burton] hurt our families, [Burton] hurt a community," Wilson said.

In December 2020, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives obtained a search warrant for Burton's home. Charging documents say Burton said he had sold most of his guns on a firearms marketplace website, but records show he sold two guns and had bought two others.

The criminal complaint against Burton says he bought $18,000 worth of guns while collecting unemployment.

Agents obtained a search warrant for his Facebook and Snapchat accounts, and found conversations in which Burton allegedly offered to sell a gun for $50 along with the price of the firearm, charges state. 

In January 2022, Burton was sentenced for second-degree aggravated robbery in Anoka County. He is on probation until January 2027, and he is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.

Burton is charged with conspiracy to make false statements in the purchasing of firearms, making false statements during the purchase of a firearm and destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in a federal investigation.

Burton is currently in federal custody. His next hearing is set for July 14.

• Guns