Former Dallas police sergeant Thomas Fry is headed to federal prison after admitting he stole and sold department-issued firearms instead of securing them. On Wednesday, Fry, 53, of Royse City, was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession and sale of a stolen firearm, according to court records. U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr imposed the sentence following Fry’s guilty plea.
Court Hands Down Federal Sentence
The U.S. Department of Justice announced the sentence, and local reporting states Fry confessed to taking three duty pistols and pawning them in Oklahoma in June and July 2022, as reported by CBS Texas. Court filings and earlier coverage indicate the weapons were taken from the Southeast Patrol Division substation between August 2021 and July 2022, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Officials Condemn Breach Of Trust
Federal officials did not mince words about the damage done. "This police officer violated his oath and the public's trust when he chose to commit a crime," U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in the announcement, per CBS Texas. ATF Special Agent in Charge Brian Garner added that the case "strikes at the core of public trust" and that sentences like this show "no one is above the law," according to the same report.
Who Prosecuted And Investigated
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marty Basu handled the federal prosecution, and the investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives along with the Dallas Police Department, per reporting by MyTexasDaily. Fry also faced state theft charges after he surrendered to authorities in April 2024, and his case has prompted internal reviews of how department weapons are tracked and stored.
Policy Questions For The Department
Dallas Police Department policies require inventory tracking and ATF firearm-tracking reports for weapons placed in the property unit, rules designed to prevent the sort of loss alleged in this case, according to the Dallas Police Department. The episode and the federal sentence highlight long-standing concerns about inventory safeguards and are expected to draw renewed scrutiny of property-room procedures and supervision.
Fry's sentence is the latest in a series of cases that have focused attention on how law-enforcement agencies account for firearms, and federal prosecutors said the punishment reflects both the criminal conduct and the betrayal of public trust. Local reporting on the sentencing and the underlying indictment provides the court filings and official statements referenced above.
