February 11, 2016

Denver (AP) — A Colorado gun shop owner (click here) who appeared on the reality show "American Guns" is accused of illegally selling firearms after losing his license.

U.S. Attorney John Walsh announced Thursday that 52-year-old Richard Wyatt was indicted by a grand jury on conspiracy and tax charges and dealing guns without a license Tuesday.

According to the indictment, Wyatt surrendered his license in 2012 for unspecified violations of federal laws and regulations. He allegedly continued to sell guns from his suburban Denver shop by conspiring with another gun shop that had a license. Prosecutors allege that after customers paid for guns at Wyatt's shop, they were sent to the other shop to fill out background-check paperwork and pick up the guns....

This isn't the first time gun sales in Denver are linked to crimes. What happens when gun dealers provide illegal venues for guns? Who loses?

Bulk gun sales tied to crimes

By David Olinger
Denver Post Staff Writer

Dec. 19, 1999 - In a typical week, (click here) American firearms dealers sell 4,000 handguns to people buying at least two - and sometimes dozens - at once.

Some customers are collectors investing in rare weapons they hope will increase in value. Some are buying gifts for Christmas, the peak season for multiple-handgun purchases.

But others who buy handguns by the handful from licensed dealers provide what law enforcement experts call a persistent source of "crime'' guns in the United States. They shop for cheap, semiautomatic pistols that can be resold on the streets for profit, either in cities and states where handgun permits are hard to get, to juveniles or to people who wish to avoid a criminal background check.

In Colorado, The Denver Post identified nearly 100 handguns seized by law enforcement agencies that could be traced to adults who made multiple purchases in the Denver and Colorado Springs areas alone. The guns were used in homicides and armed robberies, the shooting of a federal agent and the near-fatal beating of a retired Lakewood teacher. Dozens were taken from juveniles, one from a 13-year-old cocaine dealer....