Gunsmoke Owner Richard Wyatt Gets 78 Months for Gun, Tax Crimes

Richard Wyatt, 54, of Evergreen, Colorado, is headed to federal prison for 78 months after being convicted of running a rogue gun operation and hiding more than half a million dollars from the IRS. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Marcia S. Krieger handed down the sentence today in Denver, ordering Wyatt to serve six and a half years followed by three years of supervised release. A total of 490 firearms used in the unlawful enterprise were ordered forfeited. Restitution to the IRS will be set at a later date.

Wyatt, the owner of Gunsmoke in Wheat Ridge, Colorado, turned his storefront into a full-scale underground firearms dealership after surrendering his federal firearms license in April 2012 due to repeated violations. Despite losing the legal right to sell guns, Wyatt kept the business running—displaying weapons, negotiating sales, and pocketing cash. Employees logged firearm transactions in the store’s point-of-sale system as “miscellaneous” sales to dodge detection. Customers picked out guns at Gunsmoke, paid Wyatt directly, then were funneled to a licensed front store—Triggers Firearms LLC—to complete background checks and take possession.

Wyatt never held ownership or management control over Triggers, but he and co-conspirators falsified paperwork to make it appear the licensed shop was operating independently. In reality, Triggers was a paper shell, a straw licensee used to mask Wyatt’s ongoing illegal trade. Gunsmithing services were performed on-site at Gunsmoke with no oversight, and customers routinely left firearms with the shop for repairs, paying cash directly for the work—none of it reported.

The scheme unraveled after a three-week jury trial in Denver, where Wyatt was convicted on multiple counts: conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license, filing a false tax return, and failure to file tax returns for 2009, 2010, and 2012. For 2011, he filed a return claiming a loss—knowing full well he’d made at least $350,000 in unreported income. In total, Wyatt failed to pay over $500,000 in federal income taxes between 2009 and 2012.

Once a minor TV personality—featured in 26 episodes of a Discovery Channel reality series between 2011 and 2012—Wyatt used the spotlight to promote Gunsmoke, posting YouTube videos and branding himself as a rugged, no-nonsense firearms expert. That image masked a criminal enterprise built on deception, cash flow, and deliberate regulatory evasion. His aggressive marketing belied the underground operation he sustained long after his license was revoked.

“A man has to make a choice, and Wyatt chose wrong,” said U.S. Attorney Bob Troyer following the sentencing. Federal agents from ATF, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized that illegal gun trafficking won’t be tolerated—even when disguised as a retail storefront with TV fame. The case is a stark reminder that federal firearms laws exist for a reason, and circumventing them comes with serious prison time.