Baltimore police are investigating whether illegally purchased handguns were used in city crimes after state police announced more than 50 guns had found their way into the hands of those ineligible to purchase them.

State police fell behind on 1,500 criminal background checks over a five-month period, allowing gun merchants to sell 54 handguns to people who later failed the checks. State police say they have recovered all but five of the weapons.

Several gun sellers said yesterday that they had not received results on requested background checks from weeks and months ago.

State police, however, said they had resolved the problems and are conducting 300 checks a day.

"It is unacceptable what happened," said Col. David B. Mitchell, superintendent of the state police. "We should never have allowed the backlog to develop. This is clearly a major blunder."

Legislators in Annapolis have called for an audit of how the state conducts the checks.

Baltimore police are trying to determine if any of the 54 guns were used in crimes. "City investigators are following up very sensitive leads," said police spokesman Robert W. Weinhold Jr. "Therefore the department is not in a position to discuss this operation publicly."

Five weapons missing

Of the five missing weapons, two are believed to be in Baltimore County and two in Baltimore City, said state police Sgt. Gregory Mazzella. He said police believe the fifth gun was seized from a New York fugitive by U.S. Customs Service agents at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Applicants for handguns fail the background checks if they are felons, drug addicts, or are under age 21. People who have been convicted of domestic violence or misdemeanor crimes or have a history of mental illness are also rejected for handgun ownership.

State police began notifying local police departments two weeks ago to pick up the illegally purchased guns.

20 people charged

It was unclear yesterday how many of the people with the 54 guns were convicted criminals. So far, 20 people have been charged with false application and perjury for allegedly purchasing guns illegally. Of those, eight were charged with illegal possession of 36 other handguns.

Seven others face the same charges, but have not been arrested.

Customers ineligible to buy weapons purchased two handguns from Clyde's Sport Shop in Lansdowne. "My heart started beating real fast" when state police called about the failed background checks, said Clyde Blamberg, the shop's owner. "We waited a long time [three weeks] because we don't like to sell guns without the check, but we thought it was OK. We've never had a problem before, and this was the first time."

At Gilbert's Guns Unlimited in Rockville, salesman Gene Youngquist said background check results stopped arriving a few months ago -- and applications from would-be buyers quickly piled up. "We had paperwork that was over two months old," he said.

Paperwork dating back to January on guns sold without completed background checks is crammed into the files of Peggy Aycoth, owner of Eastern Gun Supply Inc. in Essex. She hasn't heard from the state since December.

"I still haven't got anything back yet from two months ago or from two weeks ago," Aycoth said. Aycoth has sold about 25 to 30 guns without the checks.

Waiting period

State police say a shop can legally sell a handgun seven business days after an application has been filed. Most merchants, however, said they wait 10 days just to give the state a few extra days.

Youngquist said he sold and provided more than 200 weapons before background check results came back -- two or three people failed their checks later.

"We expected it. It wasn't something that was a real shock to us," Youngquist said. He said state police telephoned his shop to say gun buyers had failed their checks. Employees research the transaction, but it's up to police to find the buyer and the weapon.

The backlog's origins go back to Dec. 1, when a federal system of instant background checks for sales of rifles and shotguns was instituted. At the time, the state police updated computers to conduct background checks for handguns.

State police said they did not readily have the number of applicants nor the number of people who had been rejected since the change.

System delays

Gun dealers initially complained about the delays in the system. Today, several merchants said, they wait on the telephone almost 30 minutes per application.

"My business is going down because I can't answer the phones or work the counter," said Sam Walters, a former Baltimore police officer who owns a gun store. "Instead, I am sitting on the phone on hold listening to music."

State police superintendent Mitchell blamed the updated computer system for the delays and mistakes as well as the increase in purchases that occur around the holiday season. Mitchell said he will review the entire procedure.

Del. Cheryl C. Kagan, a Montgomery County Democrat, became aware of the backlog during a recent hearing in Annapolis. It was referenced in a three-line portion of the budget. She said when she asked Mitchell to explain the delays, he played it down.

Delegate calls for audit

"He sent me a letter saying they would be solving it soon," said Kagan, who used to lobby for gun control on Capitol Hill. "I told him that was totally unacceptable."

Mitchell then promised a fix within two weeks, which Kagan believes he has accomplished. But to be sure, she added language to the state police budget requiring an audit of the background checks. Delegates would get that audit Oct. 1.

"He told me in plain language, heads were going to roll over this," said Del. Peter Franchot, the Montgomery Democrat who chairs the subcommittee reviewing the state police budget. "And frankly, I commend him for acting so quickly. He didn't duck the issue."

Sun staff writers Matthew Mosk and Jay Apperson contributed to this article.

Pub Date: 3/19/99