Man Sentenced to Three Years for Making Illegal Uzi's

[OakRidgeStars]

http://www.ammoland.com/2010/01/09/man- ... hine-guns/

Alexandria, VA Man Sentenced to Three Years for Making Illegal Uzi Machine Guns

ALEXANDRIA, Va. –-(AmmoLand.com)- John M. Walker, 50, of Alexandria, Va., was sentenced today to 36 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally converting a semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun. The defendant also agreed to forfeit 19 of his firearms that were possessed in violation of the National Firearms Act.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Willie Brownlee, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee in federal district court in Alexandria. Walker, who was cooperative with authorities, pleaded guilty on Sept. 1, 2009.

According to court documents, Walker admitted to illegally converting two semi-automatic Uzi firearms to fully-automatic Uzi machine guns and removing the serial numbers on the machine guns that he sold. He further agreed that he sold these two illegal fully-automatic Uzi machine guns to an undercover agent from the ATF for approximately $2,000 each.

Also in court documents, Walker admitted to possessing 19 firearms that had been converted to machine guns. Walker had not registered the 19 firearms in the National Firearms Act Registration and Transfer Record, and he had not paid the required Special Occupational Tax to manufacture, transfer or possess firearms designated in the National Firearms Act, specifically to include those sold to the undercover ATF agent. Thus, he agreed to forfeit the 19 illegal machine guns to ATF. The forfeiture will ensure that these guns are kept out of the hands of potential criminals.

This case was investigated by ATF. Special Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Bibighaus Hammerstrom prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.uspci.uscourts.gov.

[zephyp]

One big thing about this article should be troubling for us "...he sold these two illegal fully-automatic Uzi machine guns to an undercover agent from the ATF..."

We need to make sure that each and every private sale we make is in full compliance with the law. You never know who you are dealing with. If in doubt its better to walk away than find yourself in a precarious position legally, morally, or ethically. The flip side is selling to someone not authorized to purchase a weapon to begin with. Make sure you know the law and comply before you deal privately...

[allingeneral]

Yes indeed. A couple of key points on the private sale thing...

1) Make sure your firearm has proper serial numbers
2) Require that the purchaser shows you a valid Virginia Driver's License
3) Make sure that your firearm is LEGAL TO OWN both federally and int he Commonwealth.

Are there any others?

[zephyp]

Yes indeed. A couple of key points on the private sale thing...

1) Make sure your firearm has proper serial numbers
2) Require that the purchaser shows you a valid Virginia Driver's License
3) Make sure that your firearm is LEGAL TO OWN both federally and int he Commonwealth.

Are there any others?

Know what specific questions to ask regarding "are you legally able to own a rifle/pistol in VA" and ask them. Maybe even note that on a BOS and have them sign it. They could still fib but at least you've done due diligence. Add voter ID and/or CHP to required documents to swap.

[flash2pablo]

Yes indeed. A couple of key points on the private sale thing...

1) Make sure your firearm has proper serial numbers
2) Require that the purchaser shows you a valid Virginia Driver's License
3) Make sure that your firearm is LEGAL TO OWN both federally and int he Commonwealth.

Are there any others?

I disagree on point #2, you need a government issued picture ID, but a Virginia DL is not required to show or prove residency or legally purchase in VA in private transactions. There are two groups of individuals who can purchase private party who will likely not have VA DL's. First group is military and the second group are people who own property in two different states, an individual can purchase firearms in private transactions during the time they are living at thier residence in the state of Virginia, even if they have a drivers license from another state and live in another state part of the year.
Here is the link to the ATF website supporting this.
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unlicen ... e-purchase

[OakRidgeStars]

The type of identification required will vary depending on what the seller is most comfortable with. Regardless of whatever minimum that the VA or Federal code requires, I would only accept a VA D/L, and a current CHP or voter registration card with matching addresses on all.

[allingeneral]

Yes indeed. A couple of key points on the private sale thing...

1) Make sure your firearm has proper serial numbers
2) Require that the purchaser shows you a valid Virginia Driver's License
3) Make sure that your firearm is LEGAL TO OWN both federally and int he Commonwealth.

Are there any others?

I disagree on point #2, you need a government issued picture ID, but a Virginia DL is not required to show or prove residency or legally purchase in VA in private transactions. There are two groups of individuals who can purchase private party who will likely not have VA DL's. First group is military and the second group are people who own property in two different states, an individual can purchase firearms in private transactions during the time they are living at thier residence in the state of Virginia, even if they have a drivers license from another state and live in another state part of the year.
Here is the link to the ATF website supporting this.
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/faq/unlicen ... e-purchase

Here's the text from your citation link above:

If a person maintains a home in 2 States and resides in both States for certain periods of the year, he or she may, during the period of time the person actually resides in a particular State, purchase a handgun in that State. However, simply owning property in another State does not qualify the person to purchase a handgun in that State.

Following that line of thinking...how would one verify the residency of such a person who shows a Florida Driver's License and claims to be a resident of Virginia due to owning property here? I agree that a Driver's License is not the only document that can be used to determine residency - any State-issued ID card with a picture will do. I suppose that the person who lives in Florida/Virginia might have a Florida license and a Virginia state ID card - but they might have just a Florida license and a Virginia electric bill. I would certainly require a State-issued photo ID from VIRGINIA only.

If I am a seller and I'm not satisfied with the documentation of residency that is provided by the buyer, then I will not sell to them. Sellers must remember that the end decision is up YOU...and this decision, if not made properly, could open you up to legal problems.

[zephyp]

The type of identification required will vary depending on what the seller is most comfortable with. Regardless of whatever minimum that the VA or Federal code requires, I would only accept a VA D/L, and a current CHP or voter registration card with matching addresses on all.

[flash2pablo]

Because VA is a Title theory state, in regards to ownership, it is pretty easy to show a deed and a piece of mail that was received and dated within the last week.
That would be more than enough to establish proof, although a BOF that states that both parties are residents of VA, that is signed by both parties would protect the Seller.

But I agree it is up to what the Seller is comfortable with.