EAST ST. LOUIS • The former assistant police chief of Centreville pleaded guilty to a federal charge Thursday and admitted knowingly selling a gun to a convicted sex offender.
Corey Allen, 31, knew that the man was a convicted felon and sex offender, plea documents say. On May 3, 2012, he sold a Hi-Point .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol to the felon for $100.
But the felon was working with authorities, and audiotaped the encounter.
On Oct. 11, as part of the sting, the felon pretended to be fleeing police.
Allen, who was also a K-9 officer, was called to the scene, and spoke to the man, who told Allen that he ran because he didn't want officers to catch him with a gun. He also told Allen that he'd tossed the gun into a nearby field.
Allen lied several times to agents, saying that the felon hadn't spoken to him and that he'd probably dropped marijuana, not a gun.
When FBI and IRS agents asked Allen about the sale on Nov. 30, he denied selling the gun and said he'd never seen it before it was recovered in the field.
Even when confronted with taped conversations from Oct. 11, Allen continued to lie about the original May 3 sale, saying the felon had only asked about buying bullets. He only confessed when confronted with the tapes from May 3, his plea documents show.
Allen said that he'd gotten the gun “while working as a police officer,” and kept it rather than turn it in.
In a prepared statement, U.S. Attorney Stephen Wigginton said, “Instead of upholding the oath he took to protect his community, this officer personally armed a sex offender with a stolen gun, then lied to federal agents about what he had done. He threw away his career, tarnished the badge, and endangered his community for a few dollars.”
Allen resigned several days ago from the department, his public defender Ethan Skaggs said after Thursday's hearing.
Skaggs' only comment was, “sad situation.”
At his sentencing Aug. 30, Allen faces 24-30 months in prison under federal sentencing guidelines on the charge, one count of making false statements to federal law enforcement officers.
Allen is one of series of Metro East public officials that have been nabbed recently by a task force that is targeting public corruption.





















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