Even when the law is enforced, they make a joke out of it.
"He told the judge he made no money off the deal, was doing it just as a favor for Kendrick and didn't know Kendrick was reselling the firearms." GIMMIE A BREAK!
http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/thursday/local_news_93d6653cb1e71028002c.html
Four men sentenced for illegal gun sales
Ex-prison guards bought weapons in Atlanta for resale in Philadelphia.
Jack Warner - Staff
Thursday, July 13, 2000
Four former state prison guards were sentenced to federal prison terms Wednesday for a gunrunning operation that purchased at least 142 handguns in metro Atlanta and sent them to Philadelphia for illegal resale.
So far, Assistant U.S. Attorney Yonette Sam-Buchanan said, eight of the weapons have been recovered at crime scenes. One was used to fire at police after an armed robbery, she said, and another was recovered in the course of investigating a policeman's murder.
Jefferie D. Gaddie, Simon T. Kendrick, Sean L. Peeples and Gregory S. Ricks formerly worked at Georgia prisons in Atlanta and Jackson.
All four men were charged with conspiring to sell firearms without a license and falsely stating on the purchase forms that they were buying the guns for themselves.
According to the indictment, Kendrick was the ringleader of the operation. He already has served an 18-month sentence handed down in a Philadelphia court after he was caught getting off a bus there with a bagful of guns. According to the indictment, he purchased 51 guns in the Atlanta area.
U.S. District Judge Orinda Evans gave him another 30 months to serve, plus three years on probation.
"I apologize for all the problems and grief my mistake has caused," Kendrick said.
Gaddie, his brother-in-law, bought 50 guns for Kendrick, but was charged with 49 only because he kept one for himself. He told the judge he made no money off the deal, was doing it just as a favor for Kendrick and didn't know Kendrick was reselling the firearms.
Evans sentenced him to 18 months in prison and three years' probation.
Peeples also claimed he didn't make any money off the operation, although he bought 35 guns for Kendrick. Peeples, whose bond was revoked when he was charged with cocaine peddling in Fulton County earlier this year, drew 20 months to serve and three years' probation.
Ricks, who bought seven guns, was given four months to serve and two years' probation.
The bulk of the guns were purchased at Arrowhead Gun and Pawn in Jonesboro, often in groups of four to six weapons. Gaddie bought 10 guns there in a single day.
Sam-Buchanan said the weapons included cheap handguns such as Brycos, Lorcins and H-Points, along with major brands such as Glock and Ruger. The guns were sold in Philadelphia at profits ranging from $150 to $200 per weapon, according to Patrick Crosby, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta.
Neda Sullivan, media relations officers for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Atlanta, said the operation would have amounted to a "fairly substantial" portion of the illegal "pipeline" of arms from Georgia to the northeastern states during the two years it was running.
© 2000 Cox Interactive Media
"He told the judge he made no money off the deal, was doing it just as a favor for Kendrick and didn't know Kendrick was reselling the firearms." GIMMIE A BREAK!
http://www.accessatlanta.com/partners/ajc/epaper/editions/thursday/local_news_93d6653cb1e71028002c.html
Four men sentenced for illegal gun sales
Ex-prison guards bought weapons in Atlanta for resale in Philadelphia.
Jack Warner - Staff
Thursday, July 13, 2000
Four former state prison guards were sentenced to federal prison terms Wednesday for a gunrunning operation that purchased at least 142 handguns in metro Atlanta and sent them to Philadelphia for illegal resale.
So far, Assistant U.S. Attorney Yonette Sam-Buchanan said, eight of the weapons have been recovered at crime scenes. One was used to fire at police after an armed robbery, she said, and another was recovered in the course of investigating a policeman's murder.
Jefferie D. Gaddie, Simon T. Kendrick, Sean L. Peeples and Gregory S. Ricks formerly worked at Georgia prisons in Atlanta and Jackson.
All four men were charged with conspiring to sell firearms without a license and falsely stating on the purchase forms that they were buying the guns for themselves.
According to the indictment, Kendrick was the ringleader of the operation. He already has served an 18-month sentence handed down in a Philadelphia court after he was caught getting off a bus there with a bagful of guns. According to the indictment, he purchased 51 guns in the Atlanta area.
U.S. District Judge Orinda Evans gave him another 30 months to serve, plus three years on probation.
"I apologize for all the problems and grief my mistake has caused," Kendrick said.
Gaddie, his brother-in-law, bought 50 guns for Kendrick, but was charged with 49 only because he kept one for himself. He told the judge he made no money off the deal, was doing it just as a favor for Kendrick and didn't know Kendrick was reselling the firearms.
Evans sentenced him to 18 months in prison and three years' probation.
Peeples also claimed he didn't make any money off the operation, although he bought 35 guns for Kendrick. Peeples, whose bond was revoked when he was charged with cocaine peddling in Fulton County earlier this year, drew 20 months to serve and three years' probation.
Ricks, who bought seven guns, was given four months to serve and two years' probation.
The bulk of the guns were purchased at Arrowhead Gun and Pawn in Jonesboro, often in groups of four to six weapons. Gaddie bought 10 guns there in a single day.
Sam-Buchanan said the weapons included cheap handguns such as Brycos, Lorcins and H-Points, along with major brands such as Glock and Ruger. The guns were sold in Philadelphia at profits ranging from $150 to $200 per weapon, according to Patrick Crosby, public affairs officer for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Atlanta.
Neda Sullivan, media relations officers for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Atlanta, said the operation would have amounted to a "fairly substantial" portion of the illegal "pipeline" of arms from Georgia to the northeastern states during the two years it was running.
© 2000 Cox Interactive Media