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Title: 11 indicted; 556 guns seized
Source:
Times-Journal/AP
URL Source: http://www.times-journal.com/report.lasso?WCD=5152
Published: Feb 2, 2006
Author: Mark Harrison
Post Date: 2006-02-02 22:51:48 by ChareltonHest
Ping List: *bang*
Keywords: indicted;, seized, guns
Views: 161
Comments: 8
11 indicted; 556 guns seized By Mark Harrison A two-year undercover investigation into gun sales at north Alabama flea markets – including Collinsville Trade Day – resulted in charges against 11 people and the seizure of 556 weapons, authorities said Wednesday. U.S. Attorney Alice Martin said the suspects were accused of running businesses that sold weapons without the proper license. Hobbyists can legally sell guns without a license, she said, but the 11 were making sales too frequently to be legal. “These people who are operating every Saturday and Sunday and are selling hundreds of guns have gone beyond hobby,” said Martin, who announced the arrests at a news conference in Huntsville. Nine of the suspects are from Alabama, and two others were from Georgia and Tennessee. One of those indicted is Hixon Eugene Padgett, 73, of Fyffe. He is charged with two counts of dealing in firearms without a license in DeKalb and Jackson counties and one count of selling a firearm to an out-of-state resident. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 on each count. In addition to Padgett, others indicted were: James Edward Hancock, 63, of Dutton; Robert Conrad Coats, 70, of Rockmart, Ga.; Teddy Neal Hill, 69, of Boaz; Jessie Wilton Thompson, 78, of Gadsden, and Eddie Ray Wilbanks, 48, of Jasper, Tenn.; James Allen Bailey, 66, of Altoona; Glen Edward Stewart, 55, of Albertville, and Billy Dean James, 63, of Gurley; David Marchel Miller, 66, of Princeton, and James Herman Smart, 59, of Scottsboro. Most are charged with illegally selling firearms in DeKalb and surrounding counties. “We first noticed a major problem in DeKalb County a few years ago,” said DeKalb County Drug and Major Crime Task Force Commander Darrel Collins. “We were making a number of arrests in drug-related cases and law enforcement in general was making a lot of arrests where we found people in possession of firearms who should not legally be able to purchase them. “This was either because they were in the country illegally, or they were underage or convicted felons. The only way they could get firearms would be on the black market and what we found was that they were getting them from Trade Day and other area flea markets.” He said area law enforcement representatives met with ATF officials and requested an investigation – this resulted in the launch of Operation Flea Collar. Martin said undercover officers bought 166 guns that were sold illegally at Collinsville Trade Day, Taco-Bet Trade Day in Dutton and a gun show in Birmingham. Officers using hidden cameras made tapes of some of the sellers agreeing to gun transactions even after agents claimed to be fresh out of prison or from other states. Federal law prohibits convicted felons from possessing guns and bans crossing state lines to buy guns, Martin said. Most of the transactions involved handguns, including a small, .22-caliber pistol that can be hidden in a holster that resembles a wallet. A grand jury indicted seven of the defendants, and prosecutors filed criminal informations, indicating plea deals, with four. Records show the 11 bought and sold guns that were subsequently recovered from crime scenes as far away as Detroit and Los Angeles. One of those guns was used in the attempted murder of a police office in Chicago, prosecutors said, and another was involved in a murder-for-hire scheme in New York. — The Associated Press contributed to this story
The Times-Journal
Published February 02, 2006
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#1. To: Siagah, All (#0)
ATF As usual... Same thing happend to this man: Kurt W. As well as many others: http://www.atfabuse.com/senate1982.html "The Subcommittee received evidence that BATF has primarily devoted its Agents anxious to generate an impressive arrest and gun confiscation quota have Sites looking to gather abuse-reports...
firearms enforcement efforts to the apprehension, upon technical malum
prohibitum charges, of individuals who lack all criminal intent and knowledge.
repeatedly enticed gun collectors into making a small number of sales--often
as few as four--from their personal collections."
C.H.
#2. To: ChareltonHest (#0)
the police state is here.
#3. To: ChareltonHest (#0)
I take anything I read in the press with a grain of salt, however, if these guys were really operating in such a stupid manner, they deserve what they get. Not for breaking an unconstitutional law, but for being idiots about it. lol
Do I hear a fat lady singing?
#4. To: ChareltonHest (#0)
The dangerous streets of rural small town america are safer tonight thanks to these courageous law enforcement officers risking their lives rounding up these elderly menaces. Cut to flag shot...
In addition to Padgett, others indicted were: James Edward Hancock, 63, of Dutton; Robert Conrad Coats, 70, of Rockmart, Ga.; Teddy Neal Hill, 69, of Boaz; Jessie Wilton Thompson, 78, of Gadsden, and Eddie Ray Wilbanks, 48, of Jasper, Tenn.; James Allen Bailey, 66, of Altoona; Glen Edward Stewart, 55, of Albertville, and Billy Dean James, 63, of Gurley; David Marchel Miller, 66, of Princeton, and James Herman Smart, 59, of Scottsboro. Most are charged with illegally selling firearms in DeKalb and surrounding counties.
We've been challenged, and we've risen to those challenges. We've climbed the mighty mountain. I see the valley below, and it's a valley of peace. - W
#5. To: ChareltonHest (#0)
In addition to Padgett, others indicted were: James Edward Hancock, 63, of Dutton; Robert Conrad Coats, 70, of Rockmart, Ga.; Teddy Neal Hill, 69, of Boaz; Jessie Wilton Thompson, 78, of Gadsden, and Eddie Ray Wilbanks, 48, of Jasper, Tenn.; James Allen Bailey, 66, of Altoona; Glen Edward Stewart, 55, of Albertville, and Billy Dean James, 63, of Gurley; David Marchel Miller, 66, of Princeton, and James Herman Smart, 59, of Scottsboro. MS-13, every one of them.
“This was either because they were in the country illegally, or they were underage or convicted felons. "
We've been challenged, and we've risen to those challenges. We've climbed the mighty mountain. I see the valley below, and it's a valley of peace. - W
#6. To: ChareltonHest (#0)
WTF??? "Too frequently to be legal?" Just what the hell does that mean? What a day...some guy shoots up a sodomite bar in Massachusetts, and the media won't shut up about it being a 'hate crime' (which means the perp gets EXTRA jail time for shooting sodomites, instead of reg'lar folks like me); now this. This country is swirling down the crapper at an increasingly higher rate of speed.
Hobbyists can legally sell guns without a license, she said, but the 11 were making sales too frequently to be legal.
#7. To: Dakmar (#5)
lol! Keeping it in perspective.
MS-13, every one of them.
"No warrant, no wiretap, no W."
#8. To: ChareltonHest (#0)
Okay, so 11 people get popped for selling guns illegally. I don't see the big deal here. You have 11 people who were selling guns without a permit. They'll get a slap on the wrist, and won't do it again. These people are too old to be locked up for years and years. Not to mention the fact that the clowns sold guns to people they shouldn't have.
 | What's that Mr. Nipples? You want me to ask the nice lady about her rack?. |
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