A Kingwood man who was a veteran Liberty County police officer was sentenced to a year in federal prison for illegally buying and selling police guns and ammunition, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Beaumont announced.
Harry Leroy Kelley, a 17-year veteran of the Cleveland Police Department and the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, ran the gun range at CPD, where he had control over 100,000 rounds of .40-caliber hollow-point bullets, specifically manufactured for law-enforcement use, the USAO said. Kelley sold some of the stockpile to customers of his gun business, K Ventures, and even tossed in some rounds to those who bought new guns.
He also used police department letterhead to purchase Glocks and laser sights specialized for police and military use. The Glocks used nonlethal “simunition” that is used in training.
Kelley was found guilty by a jury in February of possession of stolen ammunition and two counts of conspiracy to commit mail fraud.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John A. Craft and Joseph R. Batte.
This article appears in Jun 30 – Jul 6, 2011.