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BATF probes Lawrence firearms purchase,
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
ATF probes Lawrence firearms purchase
By Mike Goens
Senior Editor
September 5, 2002
MOULTON - A federal grand jury is looking into whether someone in the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office purchased weapons in violation of federal firearms law.
Sheriff Grady Rose said Wednesday he was in U.S. District Court in Birmingham last week in connection with the case. He is not believed to be a target of the investigation, sources say.
Rose declined to elaborate on the nature of the investigation or what questions he was asked. Grand jury proceedings are not open to the public.
"They had subpoenaed some records, and I carried them to Birmingham," Rose said. "That's all I can comment on at this time."
Law enforcement sources say agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have been looking into allegations that a sheriff's office employee bought weapons or ammunition and sold it to a resident, possibly a former reserve deputy in the department.
The weapons and ammunition are available only to law enforcement or the military. The federal firearms law passed during President Clinton's administration placed restrictions on any civilian's access to semi-automatic guns, which are commonly associated with street crimes. No one has been indicted in the case, officials at the Hugo Black Federal Building in Birmingham said.
U.S. District Attorney Alice Martin said Tuesday she could neither confirm nor deny if her office was investigating anyone in the sheriff's office.
Sources said Rose was asked to provide personnel records and other related documentation from a five-year period beginning in October 1997. He was asked to identify all employees of the sheriff's office during that time.
The sheriff also had to provide all correspondence made between department personnel and all federally licensed firearms dealers, the sources said. He was asked to provide an inventory of the department's weapons and ammunition along with who has possession of those items.
Rose suspended Chief Deputy Jim Martin for two weeks in December for violating federal law involving ammunition magazines. Martin was accused of using his position in the department to buy an ammunition magazine that is restricted to police use.
Rose did not give details about why Martin was suspended at the time. He did say the action involved "nothing concerning his integrity or honesty."
It was unclear Wednesday who the target of the investigation is. Sources said ATF agents have spoken to people outside the sheriff's office during their investigation.
Mike Goens can be reached at 740-5740 or mike.goens@timesdaily.com.
http://www.timesdaily.com/news/stories/23078newsstories.html
"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
By Mike Goens
Senior Editor
September 5, 2002
MOULTON - A federal grand jury is looking into whether someone in the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office purchased weapons in violation of federal firearms law.
Sheriff Grady Rose said Wednesday he was in U.S. District Court in Birmingham last week in connection with the case. He is not believed to be a target of the investigation, sources say.
Rose declined to elaborate on the nature of the investigation or what questions he was asked. Grand jury proceedings are not open to the public.
"They had subpoenaed some records, and I carried them to Birmingham," Rose said. "That's all I can comment on at this time."
Law enforcement sources say agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms have been looking into allegations that a sheriff's office employee bought weapons or ammunition and sold it to a resident, possibly a former reserve deputy in the department.
The weapons and ammunition are available only to law enforcement or the military. The federal firearms law passed during President Clinton's administration placed restrictions on any civilian's access to semi-automatic guns, which are commonly associated with street crimes. No one has been indicted in the case, officials at the Hugo Black Federal Building in Birmingham said.
U.S. District Attorney Alice Martin said Tuesday she could neither confirm nor deny if her office was investigating anyone in the sheriff's office.
Sources said Rose was asked to provide personnel records and other related documentation from a five-year period beginning in October 1997. He was asked to identify all employees of the sheriff's office during that time.
The sheriff also had to provide all correspondence made between department personnel and all federally licensed firearms dealers, the sources said. He was asked to provide an inventory of the department's weapons and ammunition along with who has possession of those items.
Rose suspended Chief Deputy Jim Martin for two weeks in December for violating federal law involving ammunition magazines. Martin was accused of using his position in the department to buy an ammunition magazine that is restricted to police use.
Rose did not give details about why Martin was suspended at the time. He did say the action involved "nothing concerning his integrity or honesty."
It was unclear Wednesday who the target of the investigation is. Sources said ATF agents have spoken to people outside the sheriff's office during their investigation.
Mike Goens can be reached at 740-5740 or mike.goens@timesdaily.com.
http://www.timesdaily.com/news/stories/23078newsstories.html
"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