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Date: 05-25-2023
Case Style:
Case Number:
Judge:
Court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (St. Louis County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States Attorney’s Office in St. Louis
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: St. Louis, Missouri criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with selling firearms without a license.
Harry Trueblood, 68, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis May 10. He pleaded not guilty to the unlicensed dealer charge on May 12.
The indictment alleges that Trueblood was an unlicensed firearms dealer from Jan. 1, 2021 through May 10, 2023
A court affidavit says that after learning that an AR-15-style pistol recovered in a criminal investigation had originally been purchased by Trueblood, an agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was able to document that 15 firearms originally purchased by Trueblood had been recovered in criminal investigations. Between January 4, 2021 and March 31, 2022, Trueblood bought at least seventy firearms, the affidavit says. On many occasions, Trueblood purchased the same make model and caliber of firearm, including 15 of the same 9mm pistols.
Agents repeatedly saw Trueblood selling firearms at gun shows, where background checks are not required for sales from private sellers. Trueblood sold a firearm to a convicted felon working with the ATF at one show, even after the felon told Trueblood that he’d done time in prison, the affidavit says. Trueblood mentioned that police had called him about two guns used in crimes, and offered armor-piercing ammunition to shoppers, it says.
Trueblood continued to sell firearms at gun shows after receiving a cease-and-desist letter from the ATF warning that the ATF believed he was illegally dealing in firearms without a license and an application so that he could become licensed, the affidavit says.
The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.
Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.
Outcome: An indictment is not proof of guilt.
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Defendant's Experts:
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