Burney man indicted with selling weapons at gun shows without a license

November 1, 2019 Trevor Montgomery

BURNEY — A Burney man has been indicted on a sole-count of dealing firearms without a license as part of an ongoing Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced yesterday, Thursday, Oct. 31.

The investigation that led to the man’s indictment revealed ten weapons sold by the alleged suspect had been recovered as part of criminal investigations in at least seven California cities, including Anderson, Elk Grove, Manteca, Modesto, Ontario, Rancho Cordova, Sacramento and Vallejo.

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According to Scott and court documents, the alleged suspect, Brian Scheckla, 61, of Burney, traveled to gun shows to sell weapons despite not having a sales license.

Authorities allege that Scheckla continued to sell weapons at gun shows, even after ATF officials served the man a 2018 cease and desist letter, advising him that he was unlawfully dealing in firearms without a license.

In spite the warning, Scheckla “continued to travel to twenty gun shows a year to sell guns in California, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho,” according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office Department of Justice press release issued after the indictment.

On Feb. 12, law enforcement officers investigating Scheckla’s alleged criminal activity served a search warrant at Scheckla’s Burney residence, at which time they seized more than 200 firearms, according to the DOJ’s release.

The release also reported that on Oct. 17, Scheckla’s associate, Gary Osterhout was charged with unlawful dealing in firearms.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Lee is prosecuting the case against Scheckla.

If convicted, Scheckla faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 29 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.