Indictment unsealed in Erie federal court alleges resident of St. Marys, Elk County, conspired to ship disassembled handguns to Canada with reassembly instructions.
Erie Times-News
A resident of Elk County in northwestern Pennsylvania has been indicted on charges that he smuggled seven handguns out of the United States by shipping them to recipients in Canada over more than two years, ending in April.
The defendant, Gary J. Murray, 44, of St. Marys, is accused of taking apart the guns and shipping them in packages that contained household items along with instructions on how to put the firearms back together, according to the indictment.
The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges Murray arranged the sales using an app, shipped the packages via the U.S. mail and United Parcel Service to British Columbia and received payment for the firearms, all Glock handguns. The firearms he is alleged to have smuggled are prohibited weapons in Canada, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said the Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated "with critical assistance from the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit from British Columbia."
"Gary Murray allegedly used his ready access to firearms in the United States to pursue a lucrative cross-border trafficking enterprise," Eric Olshan, the U.S. attorney for the Pittsburgh-based Western District of Pennsylvania, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"This prosecution demonstrates once again the resolve of our office and our partners at the ATF to track down and put a stop to illicit firearms sales — including those that span international borders — as well as our commitment to keeping guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them."
The three-count indictment was returned on July 9 and unsealed on Monday in U.S. District Court in Erie, where the Assistant U.S. Attorney's Molly Anglin is prosecuting the case.
Murray pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Monday before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Richard A. Lanzillo. He released Murray on an unsecured bond of $10,000, according to court records.
Lanzillo on Tuesday assigned an assistant federal public defender to represent Murray. The lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What are the charges in the smuggling case?
Murray is charged with the felonies of conspiracy to commit a crime against the United States, transferring firearms to an out-of-state resident and smuggling goods from the United States. The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges the crimes occurred from Oct. 1, 2022, to April 4 of this year. A conviction on the charges carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
The indictment provides no details on what led authorities to investigate Murray or why he is alleged to have sent the firearms to Canada. The indictment alleges the conspiracy started when Murray "communicated with others known and unknown online via Telegram Messenger and agreed to ship firearms from the United States to Canada."
Canadians can own licensed firearms, but the gun laws are stricter than those in the United States.
The indictment alleges Murray bought the firearms at a gun store in St. Marys with the intent to ship them to Canada. Murray is accused of disassembling the guns and repackaging and concealing the parts in packages that also contained household items, such as "hot glue guns, camping kits and staplers," according to the indictment.
It alleges Murray "provided instructions explaining how to reassemble the firearms."
How was the defendant alleged to have been paid?
Using Cash App, a mobile payment service, Murray received six payments for the guns, according to the indictment. It alleges the payments totaled $21,286 in Canadian dollars, or about $15,570 in U.S. dollars.
Murray was indicted in the Erie Division of the 25-county federal Western District of Pennsylvania. U.S. District Court in Erie handles cases that originate in seven of those counties, all in northwestern Pennsylvania: Erie, Elk, Forest, McKean, Venango, Warren and Crawford.
Contact Ed Palattella at epalattella@timesnews.com or 814-870-1813. Follow him on X @ETNpalattella.
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