Ohio Man Sentenced to Prison for Selling Firearms Without a Federal License Wednesday, January 15, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Ohio Legally Purchased Firearms Traced to Numerous Shootings Including One Homicide Say's FFL and Firearms Instructor Gregg Kielma, "don't purchase firearms to be resold. It's illegal and called a "straw deal" God forbid it's used in a crime or homicide. You will go to jail when investigated and caught by the ATF. Don't lie on the 4473 ATF Form. This form is like signing your tax return. Be honest. Answer all the questions truthfully. And most importantly don't jeopardize my livelihood, my good name and my business by lying to me and the federal government (ATF). Continues Kielma, if I feel the something is wrong with the sale, I'm contacting the ATF and presenting the paperwork and facts as I understand them. You will be investigated. Please, just do the right thing. After the background check and waiting period if you don't have a CCW pick it up and enjoy. Concludes Kielma, purchase the gun for yourself and enjoy the shooting sport. Do the right thing. Now let's take a look below and see how you don't do it. Don't Lie For The Other Guy! CLEVELAND – Richard Seawright, 28, of Cleveland, has been sentenced to 33 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, after he pled guilty to reselling firearms he acquired legally, reselling them without a federal firearms license, and lying on paperwork that he was the actual buyer. According to court documents, Seawright legally bought more than 50 firearms from around April 17, 2018, to about Dec. 12, 2022, at federally licensed dealers throughout Northeast Ohio. He admitted to lying on federal firearms transaction record forms which he completed and submitted when the firearms were purchased. The forms are a requirement of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to inform buyers about the specific restrictions on the receipt and possession of firearms. Each buyer must certify that they do not intend to transfer or sell the firearm. Seawright admitted to making the purchases with the intent to sell them to others who were not legally allowed to buy or own firearms. The practice of acquiring firearms for others who are legally prohibited from buying, owning, or possessing them is known as ‘straw purchasing.’ During the investigation, law enforcement officials discovered that Seawright’s purchases from the licensed firearms dealer, were in fact re-sold to others and found to have been used in multiple acts of violence. Firearms that Seawright purchased were traced to crimes using the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, known as NIBIN. Ballistic cross analysis determined that firearms originally purchased by the defendant had multiple NIBIN connections to other shootings including one that resulted in a homicide. This case was investigated by ATF-Cleveland and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Kane for the Northern District of Ohio. Contact Jessica Salas Novak Jessica.Salas.Novak@usdoj.gov Updated January 15, 2025
Most defensive gun cases don't involve discharging the weapon. If you use a shotgun for home defense, are you statistically safer if you rack the slide to deter an intruder? Gregg Kielma FFL-Firearms- Instructor First Aid Fundamentals Instructor-Gunsmith- AED Defibrillator Sales There are many who will disagree with me on this point. It’s recommend that all defensive firearms used for in-home defense be loaded, stored with a round chambered and ready for use at a moment’s notice - with one exception. I recommend that pump action shotguns be loaded but stored with an empty chamber. The sound of a pump action shotgun being racked to chamber a round is unmistakable and many times will deter an attack. This is well documented. You still need to be ready and willing to use it if necessary if: Assuming the sound alone will deter attackers, and they retreat, you have already saved your life and possibly the attacker. Some attackers are betting you won’t have the bravery to use it while others may have a death wish. In any case, you only deploy a firearm in necessary self-defense situations, you are the “reasonable person” and if you are willing and able to use it. If not, the possibility of having your firearm taken from you by an attacker and used against you is very real. Gregg Kielma FFL-Firearms- Instructor First Aid Fundamentals Instructor-Gunsmith- AED Defibrillator Sales
Do you think a gun keeps your home safe from burglars? The Knoxville Study Gregg Kielma FFL-Firearms- Instructor First Aid Fundamentals Instructor-Gunsmith- AED Defibrillator Sales Burglars, like all criminals, must assess risk before engaging in a particular criminal activity. Some are dim bulbs and get caught rather easily. The smart ones become quite good at-risk assessment and run for a long time period before they are caught. Breaking into a residence involves significant risk. How much risk? That depends on a wide variety of factors, including the physical security level of the house, whether it will it be easy to ingress and egress without being seen by neighbors, cameras, passersby, and whether the homeowner is home. Above all, they would like to know if there is someone in the home with a gun. That would constitute an extremely high risk break in. Criminals are rarely suicidal, and there are countless cases where a criminal has broken in (alive) but came out dead in a body bag. We know it, and they know it If you have not heard of the Knoxville study, you should. Here it is: The Knoxville Study: Today burglars fear the homeowner much more than the police. They know the police cannot shoot them for crimes against property and cannot chase them if they flee in a vehicle. When was the last time you heard of the Supreme Court handing down a ruling in favor of the victim and their property or more authority for the police to apprehend? Burglars are familiar with how the criminal justice system works to their benefit from slap-on-wrist judges who hand out probation five or six times to sympathetic jurors who view a burglar’s drug addiction, abusive father or alcoholic mother as a valid excuse. They are also aware of jail overcrowding and budget cuts which lessens punishments for their crime. Hardly a day goes by that a team of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, behaviorists, criminologists, etc. aren’t doing Q & A surveys in prisons and jails seeking answers to antisocial behavior. The most profound and undisputed survey I reviewed was asked of convicted burglars by an FBI behaviorist: 1. Would you B&E (break and enter) a home if you thought it occupied? A. No — 88 percent (the other 12 percent are hard-core burglars). 2. Would you B&E a home if you knew the owner was home and maybe had a gun? A. No — 95 percent (the other 5 percent are called cat burglars) 3. Would you B&E a home if you knew the owner was home and did, in fact, have a gun? A. No — 100 percent (I told you they fear the homeowner). So, to answer the question, no, a gun (a metal tool) in the house without an operator has no effect on keeping the home “safe.” That same gun in the hand of someone who is willing to use it to protect him or herself is very different matter. Gregg Kielma FFL-Firearms- Instructor First Aid Fundamentals Instructor-Gunsmith- AED Defibrillator Sales
Grand Rapids Man Sentenced For Firearms Violation, Apprehended With AR-Style Gun At High School Graduation Friday, January 17, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Michigan GRAND RAPIDS – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Mark Totten today announced that Shyon Malik Armstrong, 19, of Grand Rapids, was sentenced to 50 months in prison for being a felon in possession of firearms. “At one of life’s most celebratory moments – a high school graduation – Mr. Armstrong created the risk of horrendous harm for these graduates, their families, and school officials,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “I’m so grateful to the Grand Rapids Police Department officers who acted swiftly to protect the community. Every person – no matter who they are or where they live – has a right to live free from the fear of gun violence.” On May 30, 2024, Grands Rapids Police Department responded to information that violence might break out at a graduation ceremony at Calvary Church. The police had learned earlier in the day that two street gangs were fighting and threatening acts of violence at the graduation ceremony. Mr. Armstrong attempted to flee police, but when they detained him, they found two loaded firearms in his backpack. One of the guns was an AR-style pistol with an extended magazine containing 35 rounds of ammunition. The Grand Rapids Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/psn. Updated January 17, 2025
Two Men Sentenced in Connection with Smuggling of Gun Parts to Mexico Friday, January 17, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas USATXW.MediaInquiry@usdoj.gov San Antonio, Texas – Two Mexican nationals have been sentenced to prison as part of a conspiracy to smuggle AR-15 parts out of the United States and into Mexico. Jose Francisco Garcia-Cervantes was sentenced today to 57 months in prison. Ricardo Rodriguez-Sotelo was sentenced to 78 months in prison on October 24, 2024, as part of the same case. According to court documents, both men participated in the illegal trafficking of firearm parts from the Western and Southern Districts of Texas to Mexico. Garcia-Cervantes acted as a smuggler for the operation and transported boxes of gun parts to Mexico. Rodriguez-Sotelo prepared gun parts to be smuggled across the border by repackaging them at a storage unit in Laredo, Texas, where they would be picked up for delivery by truck to Mexico. Three co-defendants, Chandler Britain Bradford, Troy Vernon Erbe, and Jesus Guzman-Delgado are pending trial. U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas made the announcement: “Rodriguez-Sotelo and Garcia-Cervantes played significant roles in an operation that moved a vast number of gun parts from the United States to Mexico. We will continue to work diligently with law enforcement partners to combat weapons trafficking and the illegal flow of guns to Mexico.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and Department of Commerce Export Enforcement Division investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William F. Calve prosecuted the case. Updated January 17, 2025
Multiple Defendants Indicted on Federal Firearms Charges Friday, January 17, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia Cases include indictment of man accused in Fort Eisenhower murder SAVANNAH, GA: Newly returned indictments in the Southern District of Georgia include charges alleging felons illegally possessed firearms, while additional defendants have been sentenced to federal prison or await further proceedings after pleading guilty to federal gun charges. “Removing guns from the hands of those who are prohibited from possessing them is a vital part of this office’s effort to fight violent crime,” said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. “Our law enforcement partners continue their valiant efforts to identify individuals who illegally possess weapons in our communities.” The cases are prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods in collaboration with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the FBI, to reduce violent crime with measures that include targeting convicted felons who illegally possess guns. Those indicted in January include: • Natravien Reshawn Landry, 25, of Abbeville, Louisiana, charged with Premeditated Murder and Use of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence for the Dec. 14, 2024, fatal shooting of U.S. Army Sgt. Andre S. Stewart Jr. at Fort Eisenhower in a case under investigation by the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division. Also, • Fitz Kenney Williams, 33, of Augusta, charged with Illegal Receipt of a Firearm by a Person Under Indictment; • Ruben Alejandro Reyna-Mendoza, 47, of Ridgeland, South Carolina, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and, • Jarvis Jerrell Giles, 36, of Savannah, charged with Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. All indicted defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty. Defendants recently adjudicated on federal firearms charges include: • Lial Stephens, 28, of Pooler, Ga., was sentenced to 64 months in prison and ordered to pay $11,400 in restitution after pleading guilty to two counts of Interference with Commerce by Robbery. Stephens pointed a pistol at a Garden City, Ga., convenience store clerk during robberies in September and November 2023. • Jeremy Studdard, 43, of Dublin, Ga., was sentenced to 80 months in prison and fined $1,500 after pleading guilty to Possession of Firearms by a Convicted Felon, and Possession of Methamphetamine with Intent to Distribute. Studdard, initially facing a federal gun charge, was out on bond for related state charges when Dublin police officers found him in possession of drugs and guns during two separate traffic stops. • Ray Charles Canady III, 51, of Augusta, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Interference with Commerce by Robbery, Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence. Richmond County investigators arrested Canady after he brandished a firearm at an Augusta convenience store in February 2024 and threatened an employee before running from the store with cash and lottery tickets. • Phillip Moore, 29, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah police officers conducting foot patrol in a Savannah neighborhood found Moore in possession of a semiautomatic pistol while arresting him for trespassing. • Kenneth Moultrie Jr., 24, of Savannah, awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. Savannah police officers found a semiautomatic pistol in Moultrie’s possession during an April 2024 traffic stop. The cases are being prosecuted for the United States by the Southern District of Georgia U.S. Attorney’s Office. Under federal law, it is illegal for an individual to possess a firearm if he or she falls into one of nine prohibited categories including being a felon; illegal alien; or unlawful user of a controlled substance. Further, it is unlawful to possess a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense or violent crime. It is also illegal to purchase – or even to attempt to purchase – firearms if the buyer is a prohibited person or illegally purchasing a firearm on behalf of others. Lying on ATF Form 4473, which is used to lawfully purchase a firearm, also is a federal offense. For more information from the ATF on the lawful purchasing of firearms, please see: https://www.atf.gov/qa-category/atfw-form-4473 Contact Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer: 912-652-4422 Updated January 17, 2025
Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer And Two Conspirators Plead Guilty To Gun Trafficking Monday, January 13, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Matthew L. Stephen Easton (35, Melrose) has pleaded guilty to firearms trafficking. Easton faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 24, 2025. Easton’s co-defendants, Derick Yamir Perez Diaz (22, Orlando) and Ernesto Vasquez (23, Kissimmee), previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to traffic firearms. They each also face a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. Perez Diaz and Vasquez are scheduled to be sentenced on March 25 and April 8, 2025, respectively. According to the plea agreements, Easton, a federally licensed firearms dealer, supplied Perez Diaz with large quantities of firearms, despite knowing that Perez Diaz was dealing in firearms without a license. Perez Diaz, in turn, trafficked those firearms to Vasquez who resold them and smuggled them out of the country. Between October and December 2023, more than 100 Glock pistols and AK-47 rifles were trafficked. Additionally, Vasquez and Perez Diaz admitted to trafficking machinegun conversion devices: On April 18, 2024, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, executed a Search Warrant at Vazquez’s residence. Inside they found multiple firearms, stockpiles of ammunition, and grenades: This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Noah P. Dorman and Dana E. Hill. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. Updated January 13, 2025
Arcadia Felon Pleads Guilty To Selling Firearms To Undercover ATF Agent Wednesday, January 15, 2025 U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that William Roger Clayton (41, Arcadia) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Clayton faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. According to court documents, on July 28, 2022, Clayton directed an ATF agent, acting in an undercover capacity, to meet him in Arcadia where Clayton offered several firearms for sale, including a Ruger Mini-14 .223 caliber rifle, a Mauser 6.5 caliber rifle, a VZ24 6.5 caliber rifle, a Tokarev 7.62mm caliber pistol, and a Romarm-Cugir 7.62mm pistol. Clayton advised that he could also facilitate the sale of silencers as well as “ghost guns,” which are privately manufactured and untraceable firearms. At the time, Clayton had multiple prior felony convictions including grand theft, grand theft of a motor vehicle, trafficking in stolen property, possession of a place for the purpose of trafficking, fleeing and eluding a law enforcement officer, and robbery. As a convicted felon he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the DeSoto County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David W.A. Chee and Michael J. Buchanan. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
If you're in Big Box Store and you see someone open carrying an AR type rifle. Would you be able to keep shopping and ignore them? Gregg Kielma FFL-Firearms Instructor First Aid Fundamentals Instructor-Gunsmith- AED Defibrillator Sales While I will defend your right to carry a firearm, I also believe one must use some common sense. This was best illustrated a few years ago when a young black man was going to buy a BB gun that resembled a dreaded AR-15 . A local shopper freaked out and called 911; reporting lucid details that made the police believe that there was a mass shooting in process. Two officers ran into the store and killed the kid. Only then was it discovered that the gun was not a firearm, and the caller was making stuff up to get a reaction from the dispatcher. There were mistakes made by all parties involved. This retailer now requires a trained sales associate to escort the customer and gun out the door. (The legal arm firearm owner should let the courts settle this and your carry rights. Follow all police orders.) If you're still thinking of toting an AR-15 inside a store, think twice. It’s your right but you must understand the consequences, if any. My thought, if you see someone toting such a gun in the store, notify the manager as you leave the store. Call 911.Be a good witness and remember, avoid, escape and defend. Gregg Kielma FFL-Firearms Instructor First Aid Fundamentals Instructor-Gunsmith- AED Defibrillator Sales
Car break-ins increasing in Bradenton, police report says BRADENTON, Fla. — Bradenton Police Department says it's seeing an increase in car break-ins. What You Need To Know • There have been 259 car break-ins throughout Bradenton this year, according to the police department • Police say that 44 guns have been stolen from car break-ins. That number is up from a total of 23 the year before • Police are asking people to keep their car doors locked and take all valuables out of it, and park their vehicles in well-lit areas According to department data, there have been 259 car break-ins throughout the city this year. Officers say what’s more concerning is the fact that these thieves are stealing guns from the cars. From January to November of this year, Bradenton Police say 44 guns have been stolen from car break-ins. That number is up from a total of 23 the year before. Bradenton Police say they’ve increased patrols in hot spot areas for car break-ins and thefts. One woman said thieves used a brick to break the left rear window of her car. “I just think this area is a high crime area,” said Towanda Seymour, a Bradenton resident. “And if you don’t have cameras all over your property — even if you do have cameras — I think they came around the back of my property and put a garbage bag through the bag over the lockbox. So, it’s like the criminals have a way of evading cameras.” Police are asking people to keep their car doors locked and take all valuables out of them and park their vehicles in well-lit areas.
