Ian Garland, gun shop owner, held accountable for ATF’s Fast & Furious debacle for Legal Sales

Ian Garland, a loyal patriotic American who made legal sales based on false information provided to him, is under federal indictment on weapons charges.

Ian Garland owns and operates 'Chapparel Guns' in Chapparel, New Mexico, which is located near Columbus. 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. According to records, Garland followed the law, obtaining the necessary background checks, completing the required paperwork, and receiving the expressed agreement of the ATF.

What Ian didn’t know was that he was being used as part of the scandalized ATF operation “Fast and Furious”

www.examiner.com...

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.

For those that don’t know, Operation Fast & Furious, was an ATF senior official mandate to allow guns to be smuggled over the border into Mexico and has turned into a huge scandal which President Obama was forced to comment on:

In his statement to CBS Obama states that “somebody” will be held accountable. But who? A local gun shop owner operating legally, doing all the right things , with ATF’s blessings? Where is ATF’s culpability? Where is the real accountability?

www.cbsnews.com.../%3E

"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.

The “operation” was questioned by not only ATF agents but also “gun shops”.

www.cbsnews.com...

Sources tell CBS News several gun shops wanted to stop the questionable sales, but ATF encouraged them to continue.

Others in the scam were accused and and plead guilty to charges including – get this – “making false statements in the acquisition of firearms.”

juneauempire.com...

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.

www.scsun-news.com...

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.

This is what Ian Garland, in his own handwritten letters says happened:

Letter, page 1
Letter, page 2
Letter, page 3
Letter, page 4
Letter, page 5
Letter, page 6

Ian Garland has been incarcerated since March and has been refused release by a federal judge citing he is a flight risk and a danger to the community.

Update: Appeal Refused in Smuggling Case Judge Declines To Release One Defendant

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.

And now, jurisdiction has been transferred from New Mexico U.S. Attorney’s office to Federal prosecutors in El Paso, Tx. In a “sealed order”. A "sealed order"?

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.

This story just STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN... it wreaks of COVER-UP and politics at it's dirtiest!

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.

As far as I knew in NM private sales are legal. For a private sale get this...no background check required! I used to live in NM and did a little looking into there laws while I was there. The only firearms that must be registered are machine guns (fully auto). Everything else sold privately is ok...So what's really going on in that state?

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.

But then there's this:

juneauempire.com...

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.

Those are the charges they plead guilty to.

justice department supervised the operation fast and furious. the claimed aim of operation fast and furious was to track gun sales from america to mexico that could build evidence on drug cartels and lax american gun laws.

obama claimed it might have been a mistake. it was an 18 month project run by the ATF ( Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ) and and approved by the justice department.

it should be clear who to hold responsible.

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 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 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?

Reply to post by Shadowalker

What exact law did he break?


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

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?

Nothing, was giving more point to your post about family transferrs.. Stating, that if there is a felon listed at your residence, your purchase wil be denied. Also points tho those with room-mates as well.

Semi-off topic, true. but figured it was worth bringing up. relax.

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.

Sorry but that is absolutely false as well.

The NICS system is not sophisticated enough to know your brother lives at the same address...your brother, or any family member, has no bearing on your background check.

It is up to the gun dealer to listen for cues to determine if it is a straw purchase, and of course looking at the form 4473 you filled out and reading your answers to the questions.

FWIW I held an FFL for about 18 years, I know what a straw purchase is.

Sorry to derail from the thread OP, I can't believe this guy is in jail, he was instructed to do this!

He certainly could have refused to go along with this, but I guess ATF set him up from the beginning...

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.

Holder's Lies

One thing is for certain Eric Holder does not want to go down for this one, however;

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:

video

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.

Operation Fast and Furious Gets the Furious Part Right

the ATF is claiming they DO NOT want to hold blame for this one because it was the justice department that was running the show. Eric Holder of the justice department is simply not talking.

Here is all you should need to know about the law's in NM concerning this...

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.

Source

So where did anyone break any law's according to NM legislation?

reply to post by Iamonlyhuman

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.

Ian sold about 200 firearms to these guys. Must've been some large families.

Columbus' ex-mayor pleads guilty in gun smuggling case

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.