Iowa gun dealer gets prison time for federal firearms violations

By Andrew Shepperson

Bradley James Ries, co-founder of the Sureshot Gun Shop in Clinton, was given prison time for transferring a gun to a man without a background check and later trying to cover it up. (Photo: Sureshot via Facebook)
A federally licensed gun dealer hailing from Clinton, Iowa, was sentenced last week to six months in prison for violating federal firearms regulations.
According to a Justice Department news release, 51-year-old Bradley James Ries, the owner of Sure Shot Gun Shop in Clinton, was sentenced Wednesday for transferring a firearm without a National Instant Criminal Background Check and for knowingly making a false statement regarding the required federal records on the transfer. Ries pleaded guilty to the charges in February.
On Dec. 20, 2014, Ries used the NICS system to submit a firearm transfer request but failed to have the purchaser, a known felon, fill out the required Form 4473. The transfer was denied by the authorities, but Ries called the felon and said he could purchase firearms.
On Feb. 4, 2015, an ATF agent contacted Ries and asked him to provide the Form 4473 for the denied transaction. Ries lied and said a gun bluing chemical had been spilled on the paperwork.
The ATF then conducted an inspection

Source: Guns.com