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Ian Garland, a loyal patriotic American who made legal sales based on false information provided to him, is under federal indictment on weapons charges. The mayor and police chief are charged with making false statements to Ian so that they could make the purchase. Please reread those last two sentences and let them sink in for just a minute. They are charged with lying to Ian so that they could buy the guns. So why is IAN in jail?
The importance of the New Mexico connection lies in the fact that an innocent citizen sits in jail on bogus charges, charges that fail to recognize that his 'crimes' involved nothing more than doing what he was told by law enforcement acting on behalf of ATF agents as they made straw purchases of firearms from his gun shop in Columbus.
"There may be a situation here which a serious mistake was made and if that's the case then we'll find out and we'll hold somebody accountable."
But who? In an exclusive interview with CBS News, the lead ATF official in Mexico at the time Darren Gil says somebody in the Justice Department did know about the case. Gil says his supervisor at ATF's Washington D.C. headquarters told him point-blank the operation was approved even higher than ATF Director Kenneth Melson.
Sources tell CBS News several gun shops wanted to stop the questionable sales, but ATF encouraged them to continue.
Mayor Eddie Espinoza, Police Chief Angelo Vega, and town Trustee Blas Gutierrez were among those accused of firearms and smuggling charges in the 84-count indictment unsealed Thursday afternoon.
The defendants bought approximately 200 firearms over a 14-month period from Chaparral Guns in Chaparral, N.M., which is owned by defendant Ian Garland, authorities said. They’re accused of falsely claiming they were buying the firearms for themselves when they were actually acting as “straw purchasers” — buying firearms on behalf of others.
Espinoza, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, three counts of making false statements in the acquisition of firearms and three counts of smuggling firearms from the United States, according to federal prosecutors.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - A federal judge refused an appeal from a man linked to a major weapons smuggling case in Columbus. The village is located about 60 miles from El Paso.
U.S. District Judge Robert Brack declined to release Ian Garland last week. He said Garland was a flight risk and a danger to the community.
The federal trial against the mayor of Columbus, a village trustee, the former police chief and nine others accused with running high-powered firearms into Mexico will no longer be prosecuted by the New Mexico U.S. attorney's office, but rather by federal prosecutors in El Paso.
A sealed order prohibits the release of certain evidence in the case, possibly including the change in prosecution, according to McElhinney. "It went out earlier in the case and it's a sealed order, which means I can only tell you that it exists and that I'm bound by it," he said Monday, calling the move "definitely unusual" but declining to speculate on the reasoning behind it.
Originally posted by Shadowalker
Sad as it is, he broke the law.
Doesn't matter a bit they trafficked the guns to drug lords in mexico. They said they were buying them to give to their families. That is a straw purchase.
If they said the were stocking small arsenals, it would be legal as they had no intention to change ownership.
He broke the law because of their position and felt that a family transfer for esteemed people would be ok.
Mayor Eddie Espinoza, Police Chief Angelo Vega, and town Trustee Blas Gutierrez were among those accused of firearms and smuggling charges in the 84-count indictment unsealed Thursday afternoon.
The defendants bought approximately 200 firearms over a 14-month period from Chaparral Guns in Chaparral, N.M., which is owned by defendant Ian Garland, authorities said. They’re accused of falsely claiming they were buying the firearms for themselves when they were actually acting as “straw purchasers” — buying firearms on behalf of others.
Originally posted by Shadowalker
They said they were buying them to give to their families. That is a straw purchase.
Originally posted by Signals
Originally posted by Shadowalker
They said they were buying them to give to their families. That is a straw purchase.
That is absolutely false.
Nothing illegal about family transfers, unless you know your family member is a felon...You can still buy your son his first shotgun. You can still buy your Mom a handgun for around the house.
Originally posted by Cygnis
Originally posted by Signals
Originally posted by Shadowalker
They said they were buying them to give to their families. That is a straw purchase.
That is absolutely false.
Nothing illegal about family transfers, unless you know your family member is a felon...You can still buy your son his first shotgun. You can still buy your Mom a handgun for around the house.
Technically, if a Felon is on record, and listed at the same address as your living residences, you will be denied.
So if your brother is a felon, and your both living with your parents, you will not be allowed to make the purchase.
Originally posted by Iamonlyhuman
Originally posted by Cygnis
Originally posted by Signals
Originally posted by Shadowalker
They said they were buying them to give to their families. That is a straw purchase.
That is absolutely false.
Nothing illegal about family transfers, unless you know your family member is a felon...You can still buy your son his first shotgun. You can still buy your Mom a handgun for around the house.
Technically, if a Felon is on record, and listed at the same address as your living residences, you will be denied.
So if your brother is a felon, and your both living with your parents, you will not be allowed to make the purchase.
What does that have to do with this? Did the mayor or the police chief (the ones who bought the guns from Ian) have felons living in their homes?
Originally posted by Cygnis
Originally posted by Signals
Originally posted by Shadowalker
They said they were buying them to give to their families. That is a straw purchase.
That is absolutely false.
Nothing illegal about family transfers, unless you know your family member is a felon...You can still buy your son his first shotgun. You can still buy your Mom a handgun for around the house.
Technically, if a Felon is on record, and listed at the same address as your living residences, you will be denied.
So if your brother is a felon, and your both living with your parents, you will not be allowed to make the purchase.
Mr. Holder mentioned Fast and Furious essentials at an anti-arms-smuggling symposium in Mexico in April 2009. Last September, a Justice document referenced such efforts -- which received a quarter of the Obama stimulus package's special law-enforcement appropriations, followed by even more funding from the administration.
Yet Holder testified on May 3 before the House Judiciary Committee that he'd "probably" learned of Fast and Furious in "the last few weeks" -- a dishonest reply to questioning by U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. The congressman has been doggedly pursuing Fast and Furious truth through the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which he chairs.
Here’s the thing – finding out who actually authorized this program has been much harder than it should be. Obama denied that it was Eric Holder, though the ATF is under his purview. If you have seen any of the hearings on Capitol Hill, you know that trying to get that name has been like trying to pull hen’s teeth. But Obama said that there will be swift action against whoever it was, though it sure wasn’t Holder. Yeah, okay. Well, SOMEONE approved this plan.
That was then. This is now. And that is not the end of it, not by a long shot. The All Stars discussed this very issue on Tuesday night after several Mexican officials, in response to deaths in Mexico as a result ofn “Operation Fast and Furious” spoke out:
Top Republican lawmakers have authored an explosive new letter containing details of secret testimony by acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson, which reveal for the first time the extent to which his agency was involved in an international gun selling scandal.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, Iowa Republican, fired off the letter to Attorney General Eric Holder Tuesday detailing what Melson told Congressional investigators in a secret July 4 testimony.
One key takeaway from the meeting was that Melson acknowledged to investigators that agents had witnessed transfers of weapons from straw purchasers to third parties without following the guns afterwards. Straw purchasers are people who could technically legally buy guns in the U.S. but their intent was to turn around and sell them to drug cartels in Mexico.
Another point Melson clarified for investigators was that the ATF group carrying out the mission of Operation Fast and Furious was placed under the direction of the Arizona U.S. Attorney’s office.
New Mexico State Law Summary
Last updated March 15, 2011
In its publication Gun Laws Matter: A Comparison of State Firearms Laws and Statistics, LCAV ranked each state based on a review of state laws in 25 different firearms-related policy areas. New Mexico ranked 45th out of 50 – having enacted few gun violence prevention laws. Among other things, New Mexico does not:
* Require a background check prior to the transfer of a firearm between private parties;
* Prohibit the transfer or possession of assault weapons, 50 caliber rifles or large capacity ammunition magazines;
* License or significantly regulate firearms dealers;
* Limit the number of firearms that may be purchased at one time;
* License firearm owners;
* Require the registration of firearms;
* Prohibit individuals convicted of domestic violence misdemeanors or subject to domestic violence protective or restraining orders from purchasing or possessing firearms;
* Impose a waiting period on firearm purchases; or
* Regulate unsafe handguns.
Local governments in New Mexico generally lack authority to regulate firearms and ammunition, and New Mexico requires local law enforcement to issue a concealed handgun license to any applicant who meets certain basic qualifications.
New Mexico ranks 8th among the states in number of gun deaths per capita. In 2007, 295 people died from firearm-related injuries in New Mexico. In 2009, New Mexico supplied the 17th highest number of crime guns to other states per capita, and the state exports more crime guns than it imports. For details about specific firearms laws in New Mexico, choose a topic below.
In late 2009 or early 2010 the police chief and mayor of Columbus came into Garland's store and told him that they wished to purchase high-powered firearms--AK-47s--to give to their families for protection against Mexican drug cartels.
Espinoza, Police Chief Angelo Vega, Village Trustee Blas "Woody" Gutierrez and nine other men and women allegedly conspired to smuggle about 200 firearms favored by Mexican cartels between last January and March of this year. The other defendants have pleaded not guilty to the 84-count indictment.
The defendants, including Ian Garland, of Chaparral Guns in Chaparral, N.M., who allegedly supplied the weapons, were arrested during a massive morning raid March 10 by federal agents.