IL:Suit over illegal gun sale dismissed

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Suit over illegal gun sale dismissedState didn't prove owner culpableBy Rudolph BushTribune staff reporterPublished January 12, 2002A Cook County judge has dismissed a case brought by the state's attorney's office to stop handgun manufacturers and a Melrose Park gun shop from producing and selling illegal, inexpensive revolvers.Circuit Court Judge Robert Boharic on Thursday dismissed a request by the state's attorney for an injunction against Donald R. Beltrame, owner of Suburban Sporting Goods on West North Avenue. The suit also named manufacturers and distributors Bryco Arms, Phoenix Arms and others as defendants. The judge said the state so far has failed to prove that the defendants knew that they were producing and selling illegal firearms."They can't prove that in a million years," said Beltrame's attorney, Michael Nash. "This is a big victory."Boharic, however, gave prosecutors 120 days to refile their complaint.Beltrame had no idea the weapons he sold were illegal because the state had not included them on a list of outlawed guns, Nash said.John Gorman, a spokesman for the state's attorney's office, said prosecutors intend to refile and will prove Beltrame knowingly sold revolvers that violated a state statute prohibiting the sale of weapons cast from zinc alloy, which melt or deform at a temperature of less than 800 degrees.He called the judge's ruling a request for a "technical fine-tuning" of the complaint and said that in some ways the suit has already been successful."Once the suit was filed, they stopped distributing these guns and selling these guns," Gorman said.In his motion requesting dismissal, Nash questioned why authorities sought redress in civil court if they believed they had a criminal complaint against his client.Gorman said the primary goal was to get an injunction against the sale of such firearms rather than punish one dealer."We weren't interested in putting some clerk in jail; we were interested in stopping these type guns from getting on the streets," Gorman said.The ruling marks the second time Beltrame has beaten prosecution for alleged violations of gun laws.In August 2000, he was acquitted of federal charges that he sold guns to "straw" purchasers, who in turn sold the firearms to people who cannot legally purchase guns.Copyright c 2002, Chicago Tribune http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-0201120007jan12.story