Harry Trueblood, Unlicensed Firearm Dealer, Missouri 2023

A St. Charles County man has been accused of selling firearms without a license, according to a federal indictment.

Harry Trueblood, 68, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on May 10, 2023, and pleaded not guilty to the unlicensed dealer charge on May 12.

The indictment alleges that Trueblood was an unlicensed firearms dealer from January 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.

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.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr/st-charles-county-man-accused-being-unlicensed-firearm-dealer