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Curious on your opinion?
mcneely77
Member Posts: 411 ✭✭✭
I happen to be friends with both the arresting officer from Sodus, and the Blaine, the tow truck driver.
Just curious of how you feel about it.
Owners may not get guns back
By JIM DALGLEISH / H-P City Editor
SODUS -- None of the 36 guns seized in February at a Sodus Township home were illegal, federal authorities say, but the owners still may not get them back.
Because police found less than a half-ounce of marijuana, the U.S. Attorney's Office has launched civil forfeiture proceedings to keep the guns and 28,359 rounds of ammunition, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Delaney said from his Grand Rapids office. He said felony criminal charges could follow if prosecutors conclude the owners lied on gun registration forms when answering standard questions about possible drug use.
Tricia Carrie-LaVanway Bauer, who owns the guns with her father, David LaVanway, and her husband, Blaine, said the marijuana possession was a fluke, a one-time occurrence.
"Just one time, and they're going to take 36 guns away? C'mon ...," she said.
She said that the guns are worth between $25,000 and $30,000 and that authorities seized only 8,000 rounds with bullets. The rest were primers.
"Eight-thousand rounds isn't much when it's divided by (36) guns," she said.
All 36 guns were fully registered and were often used in gun safety training, LaVanway Bauer said. The Bauers say they are gun instructors, with certifications from the National Rifle Association and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
LaVanway Bauer said the couple cannot teach gun safety without firearms.
Police found a small amount of marijuana in her purse when her car was stopped Feb. 26 at Hillandale and Watson roads in Sodus Township.
The then-Coloma schools substitute bus driver pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of having carried the drugs in a school zone. Coloma's bus garage is next to the high school. The drug charge cost her the job.
She said she had never failed a state-mandated bus driver drug test.
During the home raid, authorities seized 0.42 ounces of marijuana from David LaVanway's bedroom. The amount would make no more than three joints, she said.
She said her father had not used marijuana for years and had been given the drugs by a friend who occasionally stops by the house.
She said her father was not a drug user when he registered six guns about seven years ago through the Berrien County Sheriff's Department.
The Bauers and LaVanway live in the house, which sits on 3.2 acres along Lett Road in a rural part of the township. LaVanway Bauer said her grandmother owns the house.
She said surrounding property owners for years have tried to buy the house so they could divide up the property, and her family's refusal to sell may have prompted neighbors to fabricate stories for police.
Neighbors first called the sheriff's department in March 2001 to report automatic gunfire, drug sales and militia activity, according to an affidavit by Special Agent James Walsh of the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
Other people quoted in the report alleged they saw automatic weapons, a silencer -- an illegal gun accessory -- a large truck with marijuana and human-shaped targets.
But investigators found no evidence to support those claims, Delaney said.
LaVanway Bauer said there was no evidence because no such things were ever at the home.
Much of ATF agent Walsh's report is drawn from sheriff's Detective Lt. David Chandler's interviews with four people, identified in Walsh's report only as "concerned neighbor" or "confidential source."
LaVanway Bauer said the anonymity of the sources is irksome.
"I think they (the sources) should have to come out," she said. "They have destroyed our lives over a bunch of gossip."
She said county and federal authorities needed only to knock on their door to inspect their guns, house and land. Instead, they sought federal warrants and performed a full-fledged raid Feb. 26.
Blaine Bauer was arrested nearby as he was driving home in his tow truck. Police found a handgun behind his seat.
LaVanway Bauer said the gun was registered, legally carried and contained no rounds. Bauer used the gun for shooting behind the tow truck service's garage while waiting for calls.
Nonetheless, he pleaded no contest to a concealed weapons charge and was sentenced to one year's probation. The charge could be dismissed if he meets probation terms.
Assistant Berrien County Prosecutor Caryn Hebets said testimony showed the gun was accessible for Bauer from the driver's seat and that it was not properly cased. Hebets said Bauer told the court he had the gun in the truck for four or five days.
For trucks, state law says a gun must be in a locked case designed for guns, the ammunition must be kept separate, and the gun can only be carried directly to and from shooting ranges.
"You can't carry it around in your vehicle indefinitely," Hebets said.
Do not mistake my kindness for weakness.
IALEFI, ASLET, NRA, and proud owner of a pair of S&W revolvers.
Just curious of how you feel about it.
Owners may not get guns back
By JIM DALGLEISH / H-P City Editor
SODUS -- None of the 36 guns seized in February at a Sodus Township home were illegal, federal authorities say, but the owners still may not get them back.
Because police found less than a half-ounce of marijuana, the U.S. Attorney's Office has launched civil forfeiture proceedings to keep the guns and 28,359 rounds of ammunition, Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Delaney said from his Grand Rapids office. He said felony criminal charges could follow if prosecutors conclude the owners lied on gun registration forms when answering standard questions about possible drug use.
Tricia Carrie-LaVanway Bauer, who owns the guns with her father, David LaVanway, and her husband, Blaine, said the marijuana possession was a fluke, a one-time occurrence.
"Just one time, and they're going to take 36 guns away? C'mon ...," she said.
She said that the guns are worth between $25,000 and $30,000 and that authorities seized only 8,000 rounds with bullets. The rest were primers.
"Eight-thousand rounds isn't much when it's divided by (36) guns," she said.
All 36 guns were fully registered and were often used in gun safety training, LaVanway Bauer said. The Bauers say they are gun instructors, with certifications from the National Rifle Association and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
LaVanway Bauer said the couple cannot teach gun safety without firearms.
Police found a small amount of marijuana in her purse when her car was stopped Feb. 26 at Hillandale and Watson roads in Sodus Township.
The then-Coloma schools substitute bus driver pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of having carried the drugs in a school zone. Coloma's bus garage is next to the high school. The drug charge cost her the job.
She said she had never failed a state-mandated bus driver drug test.
During the home raid, authorities seized 0.42 ounces of marijuana from David LaVanway's bedroom. The amount would make no more than three joints, she said.
She said her father had not used marijuana for years and had been given the drugs by a friend who occasionally stops by the house.
She said her father was not a drug user when he registered six guns about seven years ago through the Berrien County Sheriff's Department.
The Bauers and LaVanway live in the house, which sits on 3.2 acres along Lett Road in a rural part of the township. LaVanway Bauer said her grandmother owns the house.
She said surrounding property owners for years have tried to buy the house so they could divide up the property, and her family's refusal to sell may have prompted neighbors to fabricate stories for police.
Neighbors first called the sheriff's department in March 2001 to report automatic gunfire, drug sales and militia activity, according to an affidavit by Special Agent James Walsh of the federal Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms.
Other people quoted in the report alleged they saw automatic weapons, a silencer -- an illegal gun accessory -- a large truck with marijuana and human-shaped targets.
But investigators found no evidence to support those claims, Delaney said.
LaVanway Bauer said there was no evidence because no such things were ever at the home.
Much of ATF agent Walsh's report is drawn from sheriff's Detective Lt. David Chandler's interviews with four people, identified in Walsh's report only as "concerned neighbor" or "confidential source."
LaVanway Bauer said the anonymity of the sources is irksome.
"I think they (the sources) should have to come out," she said. "They have destroyed our lives over a bunch of gossip."
She said county and federal authorities needed only to knock on their door to inspect their guns, house and land. Instead, they sought federal warrants and performed a full-fledged raid Feb. 26.
Blaine Bauer was arrested nearby as he was driving home in his tow truck. Police found a handgun behind his seat.
LaVanway Bauer said the gun was registered, legally carried and contained no rounds. Bauer used the gun for shooting behind the tow truck service's garage while waiting for calls.
Nonetheless, he pleaded no contest to a concealed weapons charge and was sentenced to one year's probation. The charge could be dismissed if he meets probation terms.
Assistant Berrien County Prosecutor Caryn Hebets said testimony showed the gun was accessible for Bauer from the driver's seat and that it was not properly cased. Hebets said Bauer told the court he had the gun in the truck for four or five days.
For trucks, state law says a gun must be in a locked case designed for guns, the ammunition must be kept separate, and the gun can only be carried directly to and from shooting ranges.
"You can't carry it around in your vehicle indefinitely," Hebets said.
Do not mistake my kindness for weakness.
IALEFI, ASLET, NRA, and proud owner of a pair of S&W revolvers.
Comments
This is the risk a gun owner runs for indulging in non-prescription illicit drug use, however harmless it may begin to seem over time. I think they got a jolt of reality. They'll be lucky to keep their guns.
- Life NRA Member
"If cowardly & dishonorable men shoot unarmed men with army guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary...and not by general deprivation of constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Those people who see nothing but grey areas, no black and white, are lost in the fog.
SUBMARINE SAILOR,TRUCK DRIVER,RUSTY WALLACE FAN AND AS EVERYONE SO OFTEN POINTS OUT PISS POOR TYPIST e-mail:WNUNLEY@USIT.NET
SUBMARINE SAILOR,TRUCK DRIVER,RUSTY WALLACE FAN AND AS EVERYONE SO OFTEN POINTS OUT PISS POOR TYPIST e-mail:WNUNLEY@USIT.NET
If i am not mistaken if you drink two (2) beers a day your a achaolic(sp) by medical terms..I too don't enjoy the smoke anymore never fought for the lets make it legal...
offeror... i have friends that will make a joint out of that just to do it...Say your kid,girlfriend,a friend riding with you in a car or in your house and the cops found dope on one of them you think you don't have friends that do drugs..But if you think that you are in for a shock..
ie: cops come into your house find dope in your kids room..BOOM your guns are fkn gone...
Varmit... i might be wrong but i don't think a seed will be able to grow withhout the proper planting and fertilization..
And i have never heard of someone on just pot going crazy and killing it makes you stupid and slow as hell.
But i have heard of drunk driver's killing...Drunk people shooting grilfriends,friends,and just plain losing it..Drunks firing guns into the air.
I drink but i refuse to drink and drive,,Drink and hunt, drink and shoot or clean a gun...
I know this much people don't get mean on pot...If your going to judge one then judge another..I think it might be a little overboard
If we lived in a perfect world you would not be here
NRA MEMBER
I mean come on, honestly, I don't see them as doing a single thing wrong. They're going to ruin these people's lives over some stupid technicality.
Though they were ignorant, they should just be sentenced to drug counseling. And I will pray for them.
If I'm wrong please correct me, I won't be offended.
The sound of a 12 gauge pump clears a house fatser than Rosie O eats a Big Mac !
Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
Well I admit it has been many years since I've even smelled the stench of pot, but these would have to be some pretty damn big joints if they were only getting three out of a half an ounce.As far as their situation, while the law is not perfect it is still the law. If the amount in their possession is felony possession then there is a good case against them,legally to keep the guns. That still doesn't make the law right but until change is effected we are a nation of laws so just obey them. I think the big problem is going to be the charge of lying on a yellow form for gun purchase as well as any aplication he ever made for a CCW if he answered no to any history of drug use.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Edited by - josey1 on 09/16/2002 07:04:37
Edited by - josey1 on 09/16/2002 07:06:50
Ther is a provision on the yellow form for gun purchase. Max one year for felony and two years for misdemeanor.
Section 922(g) of the GCA prohibits certain persons from shipping
or transporting any firearm in interstate or foreign commerce, or
receiving any firearm which has been shipped or transported in
interstate or foreign commerce, or possessing any firearm in or
affecting commerce. These prohibitions apply to any person who--
(1) Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by
imprisonment for a term exceeding one year;
Page 34636
One State agency requested clarification whether an indictment for
a crime classified as a misdemeanor, but punishable by a term of
imprisonment exceeding 1 year, would fall within the definition.
Section 921(a)(20) of the GCA provides that the term ``crime punishable
by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year'' does not include any
State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and
punishable by a term of imprisonment of 2 years or less. The definition
of indictment is being clarified in the regulations by adding a
reference to the definition of ``crime punishable by imprisonment for a
term exceeding one year.''
Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
If you will blame gun makers for every shooting then blame car maker for every car accident.
Best!!!
Rugster
Toujours Pret
Edited by - Rugster on 09/16/2002 08:43:59
" God is in His Heaven, All is Right in the World. "
There have been cases around here where the kid was tossing his roaches out of the bedroom window, only for dad to find a strange weed in the flowerbed. Did they lose the property? No, but in these days of gov. theft of private property its a very real possibility.
I still think that if you want to win the drug war, fine the snot out of the average user. 2 months gross pay for a joint would put a fast crimp in the trade. No it wouldnt take them away from people who arent working, but most of the users have jobs.
Those people who see nothing but grey areas, no black and white, are lost in the fog.
Nowhere in the constitution, does it say that the government can seize guns if you have dope. Nowhere in the constitution, does it say the government has a right to confiscate your property if you have drugs. In fact, nowhere in the constitution does it say the federal government can prohibit the posession of drugs.And it certainly does not say that the 4th 5th 6th amendments can be suspended if drugs, or drug money, is involved.
This guy had his property seized by the Federal government, without due process. This just another example of the government not adhering to the constituion.
"Sometimes the people have to give up some individual rights for the safety of society."
-Bill Clinton(MTV interview)
Our world is really going down hill when a guy's life can be essentially ruined because he possessed a small amount of marijuana and they then go into his home to confiscate his property.
The war on drugs is a total joke. Anybody who says that the USER (Varmintist) should be the victim doesn't realize that they already are! Our prisons are full of non-violent offenders who got caught with marijuana. Of course, this does fill the prisons up so to alleviate the crowding violent offenders (who are not victims of mandatory minimum sentencing B.S) are let free.
Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals
I never said jail them anyhow, FINE them for pot and occasional use. Close the money stream from the small end. The "war" on drugs aint working because we ONLY go after the "big guy" I bet that a few 5000.00 fines for a joint or two will cause the desire to go away. Two or three months base pay wouldnt ruin a life, would make that year damn hard though. In a word, tough.
IM SICK OF PAYING FOR OTHER PEOPLES MISTAKES. I bust my hump, have three kids, the wife stays home and homeschools and I dont get s#$t from anyone. No food stamps, welfare, nothing. Hate to break the news to some of you, but one of the nasty things about freedom is RESPONSIBILITY, and no one exept my immedite family is mine
Now for the harder stuff. Work farms, saw some concrete barriers along the highway that were painted, looked nice. Would look better if they were painted coast to coast. Lots of middle management types in orange suits and brushes would place a crimp in the cash flow, maybe not the first time they get to paint, but after the third they might get the hint.
If its leagel, fine. but it aint.
I think that gov theft of personal property for whatever reason is a abomination without due prossese, and with due prossess its not much better.
Those people who see nothing but grey areas, no black and white, are lost in the fog.
Edited by - Varmintmist on 09/16/2002 10:09:44
Hell it aint worked on drunk drivers yet now has it but let's put some more drunks on the road because it's legal to drink....I know dope ain't legal..But i see no good coming of this...
I still see no reason for these folks to lose everything when we have drunk drivers killing people all the time..And don't get me wrong my kids father was killed by a driver that failed a piss test..So i am not on the let's make it legal tour.
I just think 30,000 for less then 30.00 worth of weed is just plain crazy
NRA MEMBER
Edited by - harleeman1030 on 09/16/2002 10:06:24
Those people who see nothing but grey areas, no black and white, are lost in the fog.
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Sounds like there must have been a whole bunch of seeds in that to only make three joints.
To err is human, to moo is bovine.
I have been in Jail twice in the past 2 1/2 years, once I was sentenced up to 23 months in Prison. That was less than two and a half years ago.
I have legally bought 9 guns since then and have a License to carry, and I carry a concealed weapon every day.
I have had my bouts with the FBI and FDLE and won.
If you have access to a yellow form read the part marked exceptions on the inside.
Remember...Terrorist are attacking Civilians; Not the Government. Protect Yourself!
Edited by - RugerNiner on 09/16/2002 13:32:34
NRA Lifetime Benefactor Member.
&!tch slapped for not knowing if what he is writing is correct, just writing to write. Silencers are perfectly legal if registered and paid for. Same goes for the automatic weapons, and the human form targets. I notice it doesnt say anywhere whether or not he might have had those types of guns registered even if they were present, in which case his nosy stinking neighbors were doing nothing but pissing in the wind because they didnt like guns, and nothing more. What happen to the days when slander was prosecutable?
SSgt Ryan E. Roberts, USMC
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Gun Control Disarms Victims, NOT Criminals
"Now," I can see her thinking, "who can I blame?" Aha, the dirty neighbors, conspiring and conniving to steal the family farm. Next thing we hear is she'll be tied to the railroad tracks.
And she's never failed a state-mandated drug test. Wow, that's some real claim to fame. She should lose her school-bus driving job. She should be kept away from children entirely. We have lots of folks who aren't even suspected of drug use to choose from, we don't need her.
Not very charitable I know, but when it comes to drugs, I'm not. She got caught, now she pays.
Clouder..
If you don't know your rights, you dont't have any
"a large truck with marijuana and human- shaped targets".
Boy,we can`t have people shooting marijuana shaped targets,now can we?
Either way ya look at it,
if ya take take 36 of a fellers guns
yer gunna blow his high.
.218
I'm still wondering about the 1/2 ounce of pot that only makes 3 joints??
Yea,,, right!!
Maybe if you bought lots of Cheech & Chong albums and saved the MONDO sized rolling paper that came with it!!
Anybody else remember that??
Anybody ever use it??
The road to hell is paved with good intentions!
I think that Blaine is getting screwed, but I can't fault Terry for doing his job. If Terry was the type to let some people go for such a minor offense, if guns were not involved, I would have issue with him. But He is not the type of officer that was out looking for the big bust, or career boosting bust that some might think. Maybe the prosecutor is just trying to wipe egg off of his face because this was so highly publicized when the original arrests were made. I don't know.
Do not mistake my kindness for weakness.
IALEFI, ASLET, NRA, and proud owner of a pair of S&W revolvers.