St. Charles Man Who Illegally Sold Guns Throughout Missouri Gets Probation

Harry Trueblood’s firearms ended up at numerous crime scenes — yet he won’t do jail time

Mar 5, 2024 at 6:00 am

Prosecutors say 30 of the guns sold by Harry Trueblood ended up at crime scenes. (Shown above, a shooting in Dutchtown.) ZACHARY LINHARES

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A 69-year-old St. Charles County man who pled guilty to illegally selling guns throughout Missouri was sentenced to probation yesterday — despite selling approximately 250 guns illegally and continuing to sell them even after the ATF sent him a letter telling him to cut it out.

Thirty of the firearms sold by Harry Trueblood wound up at crime scenes, prosecutors say, including homicides, suicides and other shootings. In one of Trueblood's gun sales, a man who had recently been civilly committed was turned away from two gun stores before he connected with Trueblood, who sold him a weapon.

Court filings state that Trueblood is not licensed to sell weapons and never has been. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms got wind of Trueblood's operation and throughout 2022 and early 2023, Trueblood sold numerous weapons to undercover agents at gun shows in St. Charles.

In February 2023, a confidential informant bought an Anderson AM-15 pistol from Trueblood at a gun show in St. Charles, and during the deal the buyer implied he was a convicted felon, which would make his having a gun illegal. (Trueblood, however, does not admit to having heard the statement.)

That same month, the ATF sent Trueblood a letter telling him to cease and desist his illegal gun sales. That letter included an application to obtain a gun dealer's license. However, Trueblood seemingly ignored the ATF letters and kept right on selling guns in the St. Louis metro area and in Kansas City, primarily at gun shows. At one in Kansas City, Trueblood allegedly remarked that the gun business was brisker in St. Louis than in Kansas City.

Paperwork collected at Trueblood's residence by law enforcement when they eventually searched his house suggests he'd sold more than 250 guns despite not having a license.

In a letter Trueblood penned to Judge John Ross prior to sentencing, he expressed remorse, saying that the illicit gun sales began when a friend of his passed away, leaving Trueblood a "small gun collection," and it turned out Trueblood really enjoyed being a gun salesman. He'd previously sold cars for 38 years, and he had a knack for it.

"I just seem to gravitate to selling guns and it allowed me to enhance my personal collection as well," Trueblood wrote. "But as it turned out it was a bad choice and I regret my decisions to do so."

Ross sentenced Trueblood to five years probation.