Who Guards the Guards: Liberty County Sheriff Indicted for Gun Trafficking

A common exhortation from the anti-gun crowd is that all – as in every last single one – of illegal guns were originally legal and in the system. What is never considered are guns stolen from people, imported illegally or just old illegal guns that end up on the streets again. When the latter is brought up the anti-gun zealots claim it must be a small number. But in Liberty County, Texas, there are 500 missing weapons from the evidence property room – and the kicker is that Sheriff’s Captain Harry Leroy Kelley has been indicted on 103 charges of possession of a stolen firearm.

The Houston Chronicle noted:

 ”Prosecutors accused Harry Leroy Kelley of stealing more than 100 guns while in charge of the police evidence room in Cleveland, 45 miles northeast of Houston. They say Kelley, now a 55-year-old Liberty County sheriff’s captain, falsely reported that he had destroyed the guns during a 17-year period with Cleveland police ending in 2009.”

 But there is more to this story, as the Beaumont Enterprise noted:

 ”Authorities confiscated 112 of the contraband firearms from a Humble gun shop, Sportsman’s Outlet and Indoor Range. The shop’s owner, Gary Lee, reported that Kelley had given him the guns from 2007 to 2008 in exchange for ammunition, targets and firearm-cleaning supplies, the affidavit said. Lee could not be reached for comment but has served as a reserve Liberty County deputy. During this time, Kelley also received 26 guns from Lee for which there were no records found at the shop to document transfer of such a large cache of weapons, the affidavit said.”

 So not only were guns used in crime not destroyed, but these were actually used as currency for other firearm supplies. We have to wonder how many guns may have been sold to other criminals?