Where did the Tec-9 originate from?

There are several unanswered questions regarding where the TEC-DC9M came from. On the surface, it seems like a closed case that Mark Manes sold it to Dylan Klebold for $500. However, his story of where he purchased the gun is full of holes and the bank receipt record he provided to law enforcement appears to have been fabricated.

• Where did the TEC-9 come from?
• This information doesn’t add up
• The origin of the TEC-DC9M
• The sale of the Stevens double barrel shotgun
• Discrepancies

Where did the TEC-9 come from?

The official story is as follows:

Robyn Anderson facilitated a straw purchase for the two shotguns and one rifle the Tanner Gun Show.

Mark Manes sold the TEC-DC9M to Eric and Dylan for $500 cash and gave it to Dylan on January 23, 1999 with a down payment. Duran later accepted the second and final payment behind Blackjack Pizza, witnessed by Nate Dykeman.

Manes originally purchased the TEC-DC9M at the Tanner Gun Show on August 2, 1998. He provided a receipt to the BATF for $491 from Eagle Enterprises, stating this was his receipt for purchasing the TEC-DC9M. (11k, p.8150)

Brian Distel claims to have witnessed Manes give Dylan the TEC-9 at Manes’ house and also claims to have been with manes when he bought it at the Tanner Gun Show in January 1999. (11k, p.8182)

Greg Macilliott says he witnessed Manes sell the TEC to Dylan in March 1999 at Manes’ house. (11k, p.8185)

This information doesn’t add up

First, we have a discrepancy regarding when Manes allegedly bought the TEC at the Tanner Gun Show. Manes says it was August 2, 1998, and so does the receipt. Distel says he was with Manes when he bought the TEC in January 1999.

It might seem like the date on the receipt would be more accurate, but there’s another problem.

The owner of Eagle Enterprises said that transaction never happened. He had not had a table at the Tanner Gun Show in YEARS. He had no records of selling a TEC-9 of any kind to anyone. This appears to be a false paper trail. Digging deeper, Manes’ receipt was actually for a Glock 17 model 9 mm handgun serial #BLM99505 (11k, p.8135)

Back to Distel and Macilliott. Distel describes the buyer of the TEC-DC9M as a white male, 6 feet tall, long, shoulder-length curly hair, wearing a Blackjack Pizza shirt, acne on his face, about 20 years old.

Distel did positively identify this person from a photo lineup, but the name he identified has been redacted in the reports.

Macilliott described the buyer as having curl hair, a big nose, wearing a Blackjack Pizza shirt. He also identified this person from a photo lineup and the name has been redacted from reports. That sounds like Robert Perry. And Perry did work at Blackjack at one point, so it’s not strange for him to have been wearing a Blackjack Pizza shirt.

The origin of the TEC-DC9M

The TEC-9 originated from wholesale distributor Zander Sporting goods located in Baldwin, Illinois. He sold the TEC-9 to a former Federal Heights gun store called “Just Guns,” owned by Royce Spain. He closed the store sometime in 1998, at which point he surrendered his firearms dealer license.

After surrendering his firearms dealer license, all the guns had to be transferred into his own name. He wasn’t able to sell his inventory, so he had a man named Larry Russel sell them for him on consignment through his business called Guns & Pawn. (FBI, p.1759 per Randy Brown’s numbering).

Spain said Russell sold the TEC-9 on his behalf at a gun show. However, there has never been any receipt provided for Manes’ alleged purchase of the TEC-9 at the Tanner Gun Show.

If Russell sold the TEC-9 to Manes at the gun show, the receipt would be from Guns & Pawn, not Eagle Enterprises.

Why would Manes misrepresent a receipt for a Glock 9 mm handgun from Eagle Enterprises and say it was the receipt for the TEC-9? He got away with this, too. It was not brought up in his case. It was just ignored.

The sale of the Stevens double barrel shotgun

Officially, the DB shotgun was purchased from Jim Washington and Ron Hartman at the Tanner Gun Show on November 22, 1998. Hartman is the one who performed the transaction. He described only one male with Robyn Anderson and said he was about 5’ 11” tall. (11k, p.8245, p.8249)

This makes sense since Robyn said it was Eric who purchased the DB shotgun while Dylan purchased the pump shotgun from another dealer. However, Robyn says the purchase was made on December 13, 1998. (11k, p.8216)

Jim Washington was a senior investigative and security specialist for the Defense Security Service and Ron Hartman was a 20-year veteran of the U.S. Army and Navy.

Discrepancies

At 2:50 p.m. the day of the shooting, Chris Morris told FBI that Dylan’s father had a lot of guns and he could have gotten his shotgun from his father. (11k, p.9822, p.10841)

The first police officer to enter the Harris home on the day of the shooting was Wheeldon from Sheridan PD. He reported finding a shotgun and ammunition in Eric’s bedroom. This was not a BB gun.

“An unknown gauge shotgun with a sling was hanging in clear view on the side of a dresser table inside the bedroom.” (11k, p.10222)

According to Eric Ault, Eric told him he had access to his parents’ guns. (11k, p.10646)

The shotguns were originally said to have had their serial numbers scratched off. We know that’s not the case.