PORT ORCHARD — Recently released records show that the felon who shot and killed Washington State Patrol trooper Tony Radulescu in February likely inherited the murder weapon from his father or bought it at a gun show.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives traced the .40 caliber Smith & Wesson to its last documented sale, at a Monroe gun show in 2009, The Kitsap Sun reported, citing documents released by the Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office.
From there, it changed hands at least twice without documentation, the ATF determined. The second time, a man who bought the gun in Monroe told agents he’s 99 percent sure he later sold the weapon to Joshua Blake at a Port Angeles gun show. Blake shot and killed the trooper Feb. 23 during a traffic stop. He used the same gun to kill himself later that day.
The seller’s name and hometown were not included in the report. He described himself as a private collector, not a licensed dealer, and told agents he was “committed to following the law and tries to comply with all regulations.”
He described his process to agents for selling guns at the shows, including filling out a receipt, checking ID and signing a form declaring the buyer was not prohibited from having guns. But he couldn’t find a receipt for the sale of the Smith & Wesson.
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