Posted on 05/22/2004 4:54:17 PM PDT by TERMINATTOR
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Federal agents working undercover at gun shows in Nevada the past year have arrested 14 suspects on a variety of firearms charges that include illegally possessing machine guns and explosives, agents said Friday.
The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local law enforcement agencies joined to apprehend the 13 men and one woman in five Western states - Nevada, California, Utah, Idaho and Washington - as part of "Operation Over the Line."
Nine of the suspects were arrested after search warrants were served Friday, and five others already were in custody as part of the investigation, said Daniel Bogden, U.S. attorney for Nevada.
They've been indicted by federal grand juries in Nevada and Idaho. The indictments, some dating to February, were unsealed Friday.
"Undercover ATF agents purchased nearly 40 firearms using different Reno gun shows as the hub of activity," said John Torres, ATF special agent in charge of the San Francisco office.
"We also seized explosives at one residence in Reno today," including 20 blasting caps and 20 feet of detonating cord, he said.
The agents purchased guns over the past year at about 10 gun shows, one in Las Vegas and the rest in Reno, including large events held at the Reno Hilton hotel-casino and the Reno-Sparks convention center, authorities said. The weapons include eight machine guns, 10 hand guns and 15 long guns, Torres said.
Items seized include a bulletproof vest, assault rifles and semiautomatic pistols - specifically a Korean-made AK47 machine gun, a .45-caliber submachine gun, an AK47 semiautomatic assault pistol, a Glock 9 mm pistol, a Glock .40-caliber pistol and a Baretta semiautomatic pistol.
"We want to show that you can't use gun shows as a vehicle to conduct illegal firearm sales," Torres said.
The operation was "part of a nationwide commitment to reduce the number of illegal guns in possession out there," Bogden said.
Assistant Washoe County Sheriff Jim Lopey said the operation was a huge success.
"We got a lot of weapons off the street," he said.
Torres and Bogden said each of the suspects appeared to have been acting independently and none is known to be involved in terrorism or belong to a gang.
"But we want to be sure they do not get into the hands of gang members," he said.
The indictments show undercover buys were made at the "Las Vegas Gun Show" on Jan. 17 and at various sessions of the "Big Reno Gun Show" on April 23 and last year on Aug. 16 and Nov. 15.
"We are not targeting gun shows. We're targeting people who use gun shows as a conduit to traffic illegally in firearms," Torres said.
A message left at the number for the Big Reno Gun Show was not immediately returned. Another listed contact, Donald Shiffer of Carson City, was out of town and not immediately available for comment, said a woman who answered the telephone and identified herself as his daughter.
Nina Delgadillo, senior special agent and spokeswoman for the ATF field office in Sacramento, emphasized that most gun show dealers follow the law.
"This is a minority of people who are using gun shows to conduct illegal activities," she said.
"Unfortunately you have this other kind of people mixed in here," added Thomas Cannon, ATF special agent in charge of the Reno office.
Several of the people charged were felons or were covered by domestic violence restraining orders and were prohibited from possessing firearms, Bogden said.
Only licensed dealers can sell firearms at gun shows and they can sell directly to people only from within the same state. Sales to out-of-state buyers must include a licensed dealer from their home state.
Most of the charges in the indictments are punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although several carry maximum sentences of 10 years in prison, including possession of a machine gun and possession of a firearm by a felon, Bogden said.
"AK47 assault pistol"
Krinkov? Osama has one in many of his videos.
Whereas a "loophole" is a firing port in the wall, about 16 inches above the floor, it helps to tear some boards or sheetrock loose and fill the walls with dirt, also sandbags
are your friend.
Remember, a bunker without a berm, is a grave.
The problem comes when a terrorist action is tied to a gun show, oh the outcry we will hear!
If you like gunshows better go now before they are a thing of the past.
Yep, lawless anarchy from the top down.
If those charged as felons are still considered dangerous, you have to wonder why they didn't keep them locked up.
Yep, lawless anarchy from the top down.
Actually, I view it as worse that that. I see these ongoing infringements as a deliberate policy, intended to subvert away our republican form of government, and to replace it with the social welfare state model.
Communitarianism is alive and in charge in DC, regardless of which 'party' is in the white house.
So much for trying to claim that the 'gubermint' ought to go after gun criminals.
In other news 10 million illegal alien lawbreakers continue to roam the country unchecked....
Supposedly by your 'logic' if someone gets their driver's license revoked then they must be incarcerated, too.
Yes, anarcy is the wrong word for it. It's far more organized than that. Treasonous usurpation of power from the top down, is more like what I was trying to say.
I don't know what orginizations to which you belong, but it appears you have work to do. We here in the Last Frontier, owned mostly by the federal government, have been working diligently and cooperatively with numerous organizations to regain state and individual rights. We now have an open carry law {Kimber .45ACP Pro Carry} and have held state oil leases. It's an infinite battle, but there is no choice. Whine if you must just don't quit. Regards,
I don't know what orginizations to which you belong, but it appears you have work to do. We here in the Last Frontier, owned mostly by the federal government, have been working diligently and cooperatively with numerous organizations to regain state and individual rights. We now have an open carry law {Kimber .45ACP Pro Carry} and have held state oil leases. It's an infinite battle, but there is no choice. Whine if you must just don't quit. Regards,
Oops, my bad, pilot error
If the government has no business being in my bedroom, it certainly has no business being in my gun cabinet.
So much for trying to claim that the 'gubermint' ought to go after gun criminals.
"We also seized explosives at one residence in Reno today," including 20 blasting caps and 20 feet of detonating cord, he said.
If these folks were selling illegal weapons at the gun show what is the problem?. To me this article says we dont need more gun laws we need to enforce the ones we have now, I hav always said this, now I am going to complain when the law does what I ask? Gun shows arent a license to sell illegal arms.
I think if you are a dangerous felon, you shouldn't be out of prison in the first place. If you're a domestic abuser --- beating your wife half-to-death or threatening to kill your family --- then you should be locked up. If you are not a danger --- but you could be in fear for your own life --- why shouldn't you have the right to protect yourself? If you committed a serious crime --- but you aren't dangerous, you could have some pretty bad enemies who wish to kill you --- shouldn't you have the same right to self-protection that I, a more innocent person has?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.