Madison Man Sentenced for Unlicensed Dealing of Guns (DOJ)

JACKSON, MS - Madison resident, Harold Keith Temple, was sentenced last week to three years in prison for unlicensed dealing of guns.

According to court documents, after receiving a warning from federal agents that dealing in firearms without a license violates federal law, Temple sold more than 700 guns at auctions and other locations. At sentencing, the court noted that several of those guns were later used in crimes or found in the possession of convicted felons and arrested persons. Some of the guns have been found outside Mississippi's borders-in neighboring states and as far away as El Salvador.

Temple was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2025. He pled guilty in November 2025.

U.S. Attorney J.E. Baxter Kruger for the Southern District of Mississippi and ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson, made the announcement.

"This defendant's actions showed a complete disregard for public safety-illegally selling guns without a license to convicted felons that resulted in violent crime here in the states and as far away as El Salvador," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson. "ATF will continue to work alongside our partners at the U.S. Attorney's Office to ensure these offenders are removed from our communities and held fully accountable in federal court with a significant sentence to be served in prison."

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).