Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that Colin Knight (54, Kissimmee) yesterday pleaded guilty to dealing in firearms without a license. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. Knight has also agreed to forfeit 32 firearms that he possessed or acquired during the commission of the offense. A sentencing date has not been set.

According to the plea agreement, between June 23, 2013, and August 22, 2014, Knight and his adult son, Colin Campbell Joseph Knight, collectively sold 113 firearms and made approximately $63,137 from these firearms sales. During this period, neither Knight nor his son had a Federal Firearms License (FFL) authorizing them to lawfully engage in the business of dealing in firearms. In April of 2014, law enforcement agents visited the Knights at their home in Kissimmee and informed them that their firearms activity appeared to be in violation of federal law. The Knights also signed written notices advising them to cease and desist in the business of dealing in firearms until they obtained the appropriate FFL. Despite these warnings, the Knights continued selling firearms without a license to others, including to an individual that had previously been convicted of a felony.

On August 22, 2014, in a parking lot in Orlando, an undercover agent purchased three firearms from Knight. On this same date, other agents executed a federal search warrant at Knight’s Kissimmee residence and recovered 26 different firearms, along with records and bills of sale confirming that the Knights were engaging in the ongoing sale of firearms without licenses. Knight also admitted to agents that he and his son had acted as partners by purchasing firearms and selling them.

On June 24, 2015, Knight’s son was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with dealing in firearms without a license and selling a firearm to a convicted felon. He was arraigned in federal court on June 25, 2015. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of one or more federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Searle.

This is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s “Project Safe Neighborhoods” Program - a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy. United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III, along with Regina Lombardo, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials. It is another example of ATF’s Frontline Strategy to impact violent crime within our communities.

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