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Feds: Vacaville Gun Store Owned By Felon Shut Down

VACAVILLE (CBS13) - BAF Specialties, a gun shop in Vacaville, is indefinitely shut down after it was raided by the Department of Justice Wednesday.

Husband and wife Douglas and Lori Harris own the shop, and according to the DOJ, Douglas Harris is a convicted felon and should not be anywhere near firearms.

CBS13 spoke to the gun shop right next door to BAF Specialties about the oversight process for California gun shops.

From fingerprinting to one-on-one interviews and detailed background checks, not a day goes by where ASP Guns doesn't have contact with state and federal agencies. The same goes for every other gun shop in California.

Chelsea Gutierrez owns ASP Guns on Commerce Place in Vacaville along with her husband.

"Everything is tracked and traced," said Gutierrez.

She says her gun shop is constantly under the microscope.

"Every day we are submitting documents and transactions to State and federal agencies," Gutierrez added.

She says she and her husband are also required to submit their fingerprints to the Department of Justice several times a year, and on top of that. 

"The DOJ can come in anytime unannounced or call us whenever they want and ask us questions, and we welcome that," she said. 

It's all meant to keep gun shops on their toes, but Gutierrez isn't worried because she says she's doing everything by the book.

But what about employees?

Gutierrez says, "all employees have to have a certificate of eligibility that they renew every year, and that includes getting finger printed and doing a background check."

Gutierrez takes it a step further. She runs her own background check of the candidates on social media.

She said the time it takes to thoroughly vet a job candidate can vary anywhere from six to ten weeks.
Gutierrez also adds that employees need to have a firearm safety permit to handle guns inside the shop. It's a tedious process, she says, but it's one way to ensure the bad apples get shot down.

CBS13 asked the Department of Justice how they found out Douglas Harris was working at his wife's gun store, but they did not give a direct response, saying it's an internal investigative process.

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