ATF says it must act on gun buys

Work on illegal sales tied to shows defended.

By Guillermo Contreras and Dan Freedman, Hearst Newspapers

Federal agents in South Texas knew Harmon Chester Strunk Jr. as a “gun show groupie” who bought hundreds of weapons at bargain prices from elderly people and sold them — without a license — for a handsome profit through classified ads and at gun shows.

His customers included gang members who used the weapons in drive-bys.

Finally, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives sent a convicted felon to buy from Strunk as part of an undercover sting. Strunk, 59, an Army veteran, later got 10 years in prison for selling a weapon to a felon and selling without a license.

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