INDIANAPOLIS — A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging David Joseph Mull, 51, of North Vernon, on one count of unlicensed firearm dealing.
As alleged in the indictment, Mull is responsible for selling more than 500 firearms in exchange for over $350,000 to Individual A, and 90 firearms in exchange for $56,850 to Individual B. The firearms were supposedly purchased by Mull from gun shows and sold to others. He was allegedly aware the firearms he sold would go to Mexico.
On May 25, 2016, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives issued Mull with a cease-and-desist letter advising him that it was unlawful to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license.
During a firearms sale on March 9, 2023, Individual B asked Mull why he did not have a brick-and-mortar business, to which Mull allegedly replied, “Like a store? I don’t want nobody to know. I’m probably like you, I don’t want nobody to know about it. Hopefully, we can continue to do a bunch of business; I’ll keep on getting stuff.”
“Firearms trafficking investigations are a priority of the Department of Justice because we know that illegal gun sales fuel violence in our communities and around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Myers. “We will continue to work with the ATF, IRS, DEA, and all our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate and prosecute illegal gun trafficking.”
If convicted, Mull faces up to five years in federal prison. The government also seeks to forfeit over 1,000 firearms seized from Mull as property involved in the charged offense. A federal district court judge will determine the actual sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
