MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that David Haskell Moore, age 69, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, was sentenced to five years of probation and 12 months of home detention for one count of Dealing Firearms Without a License.

The charges arose from an investigation by U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On May 9, 2024, Moore pleaded guilty to illegally dealing in firearms. According to investigators, on September 6, 2023, U.S. border agents at the Port of Entry in Donna, Texas, discovered 268 guns hidden behind the wall panel of a utility trailer attempting to gain entry into Mexico. ATF agents investigating the weapons cache traced 24 of the firearms to purchases originally made by Moore from legitimate dealers throughout Oklahoma and Texas. Moore then resold the firearms. At the time of the incident, Moore was not licensed to deal in firearms and had been served a cease-and-desist letter in 2018 by ATF agents warning him not to sell firearms without a Federal Firearms License.

“ATF’s commitment to keeping illegal firearms out of the hands of those that shouldn’t have them knows no boundaries. As this case proves, Mr. Moore was knowingly dealing firearms without a license, many of which were eventually found in the hands of criminals throughout the United States. Together with our partners, we will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities from violent firearm crime,” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

“I commend the work of ATF agents, border patrol, and federal prosecutors in their efforts to reduce the unlawful trade of firearms,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing in Muskogee, Oklahoma.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lewis M. Reagan represented the United States.

Updated February 13, 2025