Two charged in illegal sale and purchase of two guns at recent gun show, police say

A Philadelphia man and a New Jersey man have been charged with numerous felonies each by Montgomery County detectives related to the illegal sale of two guns by the former to the latter for $700 during a gun show Dec. 21 at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Upper Providence Township.

Shane Taylor, 34, of the 40^th block of Belaire Court, Matawan, NJ, and Douglas Allan Greene, 69, of the 700 block of South Street, Philadelphia, were each charged Dec. 22 with felony counts of illegal sale of firearms and a related conspiracy charge, two counts of illegal sale to an ineligible transferee and related conspiracy charges, and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activity and knowledge that property is proceeds of an illegal activity, per court records.

Each are also charged with misdemeanor illegal sale of firearms and a related conspiracy charge.

Both are free on $50,000 unsecured bail each and both will share a preliminary hearing on Jan. 28 at 11:30 a.m. before Magisterial District Judge Cathleen Kelly Rebar.

On Dec. 21, Montgomery County detectives from the Violent Crime Unit and members of the Montgomery County Gun Violence Reduction Task Force were working undercover at the Eagle Shows Oaks Gun Show at the expo center at 100 Station Ave. The detectives were tasked with identifying any vendor or customers involved in illegal sales and purchases of firearms, per the affidavit.

During the operation, a Lower Providence detective with the county Gun Violence Task Force saw two individuals enter the gun show with three bags containing handguns, police allege.

Police said patrons of the show not only attend to purchase firearms, but also offer their firearms for sale, but the entry with the bags was deemed suspicious.

The two men were identified as Greene and Richard Nadeau, per the complaint.

Authorities believed both were involved in straw purchases of firearms. A straw purchase is an illegal firearms transaction that occurs when a buyer of a firearm, who is not allowed to purchase or own a gun, uses another person, a straw purchaser, as a “middleman” to execute the required paperwork to purchase a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer, police said.

To buy a gun in Pennsylvania, the purchaser must be 21 years of age or older, present a valid state identification, and pass an instant background check showing no preclude from owning a firearm. The Federal Firearms License dealer must then complete up to three different forms for the purchase, including a Pennsylvania State Police record of sale, and a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives form.

Authorities said employees of the gun show received a complaint that Greene was selling firearms out of a suitcase. Undercover detectives found Greene in one of the halls zipping up a suitcase, and he was asked if he sold any guns without doing a background check, per the affidavit.

Greene allegedly denied doing it, and explained that he sold handguns to other people through a vendor, police said.

Then, investigators found that prior to police contact, Greene did allegedly illegally sell firearms to Taylor without doing a background check.

When questioned again on his prior account of the legal transfer, Greene told police he in fact sold two guns to an unknown man and did not obtain any other information, police said. The unknown man was Taylor, police allege.

Greene asked for Taylor’s concealed carry permit, but Taylor claimed he did not have his wallet and offered more money for the transaction, authorities said.

It was discovered that Greene allegedly sold a Glock 21 and a Smith & Wesson MP-9C to Taylor for $700 cash without proper paperwork and a background check.

Taylor attempted to minimize his alleged involvement in the sale and told authorities he bought one gun, per the affidavit. He told police he was from New Jersey and claimed he did not know about firearm purchase paperwork, police said.

After further discussion, Taylor allegedly admitted to buying two guns and said he gave one to his friend “Kevin,” later identified as Kevin Schork.

Police said Schork told them he felt the transaction was “fishy” and placed the gun on a table and left.

Both of the alleged illegally sold guns were recovered by police. Other firearms possessed by Greene were seized at the show by authorities.

All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.