Shelby County Gun Shuffle – Part II

Shelby Co. (ECWd) –

Former Shelby County Sheriff Don Koonce has some explaining to do for the public in relation to the illegal gun sales that took place with himself and County employees.  We exposed the inconsistency in records provided in this article and after that exposure and our comments at the last County Board meeting, we have more troubling news.

Of the alleged guns sold, there are only 2 on the list that had no receipt reflecting who purchased those 2 guns.  A request for more information from the current Sheriff proved the 2 guns sold, but not listed on the receipt book, were purchased by former Sheriff Koonce which now is recorded in this record.

Now that the alleged 26 guns sold are all accounted for as it relates to who purchased them, what was the $350.00 receipt to Rob McCall for?  According to the Sheriff’s office response, “Receipt #110950 for $350.00 does not indicate what the payment was for from Rob McCall.” Since all the guns allegedly sold were on this list, how is it that McCall received a refund for a gun purchase?

After presenting our concerns to the current Sheriff and the County Board, Sheriff McReynolds informed us the payment to McCall was for the purchase of a Kimber pistol.  The problem now is that means the records Koonce provided as “all” the guns sold were not accurate because there was no Kimber pistol listed on the record provided.

The original seizer of weapons that became entangled in this illegal gun sale is found at this link. Note that exhibit #64 on that list is a Kimber Custom pistol.  Sheriff McReynolds has confirmed that the gun McCall purchased and returned for a refund was Exhibit #64.

The original inventory of all seized weapons did not include this list of seized guns and now it’s clear that guns were in fact sold and not accounted for from that list, with the exception of 1 gun now that McCall purchased. Considering McCall received a refund that included $50.00 more than he paid, it would indicate that it was for two $25 transfer fees, which begs the question, what other gun was purchased from the seized list of guns and not recorded on the guns sold?

As it stands, there were 6 guns taken to Locked and Loaded not included on the inventory list provided by Koonce.  The current inventory provided by McReynolds includes the seized guns list, however, he has not put his own eyes on what is now 6 guns not accounted for in the paper trail.  We are awaiting his response regarding those guns.

For those that have not followed this multi-year event, we have gone from being told in 2018 that no seized weapons were sold, which was a lie, to a paper trail of inventory that appears to be growing as we continue to expose irregularities.  For example, the Swiss rifle that was on the sold list has been located but we have no explanation as to where it came from because it was not on the list of seized weapons.  Nor is it on the list of other guns that were in inventory, so the question becomes, where did that gun come from?

As if all this is not bad enough, Illinois law forbids the sale of seized guns and considering there was never a court order changing the disposition of the seized evidence it should have never left the Sheriff’s office in the first place.

It has been insinuated that the refund check for Koonce reflecting an M9 purchase was a mistake because “those people” didn’t really know what kind of gun it was.  That does not hold water with us because Koonce issued the refund to himself with the memo reflecting an M9 was part of the purchase.  I have no doubt Koonce knows what an M9 is.  There is no M9 listed on any inventory of the guns seized and sold so it’s clear Koonce’s documentation for his own refund is not accurate.

Will the remaining 6 guns be accounted for or are they long gone after being sold on Gun Broker through Locked and Loaded?  Time will tell.