Richard Allen Canterbury of Valley Grande stood in federal court this week and admitted to trafficking in stolen guns pulled straight from the heart of the Selma Police Department’s evidence room. The 54-year-old pleaded guilty to three federal firearms charges, marking a shocking breach of trust that exposed systemic vulnerabilities in a local law enforcement agency meant to serve and protect.
According to court documents, the investigation began when stolen evidence—including firearms—surfaced at a local middle school. Selma police traced the items back to Canterbury’s wife, an evidence technician at the department with authorized access to the secured storage unit. She allegedly removed the weapons without authorization and funneled them to her husband, setting off a criminal pipeline from police custody to the black market.
Canterbury admitted to selling dozens of the stolen firearms at a job site near Selma and used social media platforms to advertise the weapons. He funneled proceeds back to his wife, deepening the conspiracy. Authorities intercepted the operation after receiving credible tips about the illicit sales. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the FBI, and the Alabama Attorney General’s Office joined the probe, ultimately recovering approximately 239 firearms from the purloined cache.
As a convicted felon—having been found guilty in 1996 of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling—Canterbury was legally barred from possessing any weapons. Yet he not only handled them, but sold them freely. Among the charges he pleaded guilty to are possession of firearms by a convicted felon, possession of firearms with obliterated serial numbers, and selling firearms without a federal license—each carrying stiff penalties under federal law.
U.S. District Judge Kristi K. Dubose accepted the guilty plea. Canterbury now faces up to 10 years in prison on the first count, up to 5 years on each of the remaining counts, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release, and a mandatory $300 special assessment. His sentencing is scheduled for July 27, 2018. He remains under court-ordered release pending judgment.
The case was investigated by the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, the ATF, and the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gloria Bedwell. The scandal has ignited scrutiny over internal controls within the Selma Police Department’s evidence handling procedures, raising urgent questions about accountability and oversight in municipal law enforcement.
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