Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 6, 1993 TAG: 9301060061
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARGARET EDDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: RICHMOND LENGTH: Medium
17 INDICTED ON GUN-TRAFFICKING CHARGES
In one of the largest such efforts since state and federal authorities began a high-profile crackdown on gun trafficking last year, a federal grand jury charged 17 people Tuesday with taking part in three separate gun-running conspiracies in Virginia.The indictments involve 72 firearms bought at gun stores and shows.
A host of officials on hand for the announcement said numerous such schemes to buy guns in Virginia and sell them illegally for huge profits out of state go undetected.
The three alleged conspiracies are "the tip of the iceberg" in the state's gun-trafficking market, said Richard Cullen, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. "I shudder to think how many [gunrunners] get away."
The indictments came as Cullen, Gov. Douglas Wilder and others are pushing for a one-per-month limit on handgun purchases. The prosecutor denied that the charges were timed to coincide with the opening of the 1993 General Assembly next week.
The grand jury's action reflects expanded efforts by state police; the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms; and Cullen's office to stanch the flow of guns, Cullen said.
The three alleged conspiracies offer classic examples of gunrunning techniques:
In one, two New York men are charged with soliciting a 22-year-old Emporia resident, Sandra Davis Lundy, to buy guns for them. The group is alleged to have paid $100 to buy six guns at a Petersburg-area gun store from September to November. The guns were to be shipped to New York for resale at double or triple the Virginia price.
In the second case, Darrin Alexander Sloan, a Washington, D.C., resident, is accused of illegally buying 20 firearms from two Emporia-area gun dealers beginning in April. The purchases allegedly were made for several unidentified residents of North Carolina; Washington, D.C.; and Virginia.
The indictment charges that Sloan obtained a fraudulent driver's license from the state Division of Motor Vehicles by producing a birth certificate and Social Security card as identification and listing his mother's Emporia address as his own.
Critics complain that the DMV aides gunrunners by failing to require proof of residence. But DMV officials have said that requiring such proof would be burdensome to honest citizens.
In the third case, two New York men and several Northern Virginia residents are charged with purchasing 52 firearms over several months for transport to New York.
The indictment says the group frequented gun shows in suburban Richmond, Dale City and Warrenton, and made purchases from gun dealers in Woodbridge and Manassas.
At one point, according to the indictment, instigators of the scheme discussed whether to buy guns in Virginia or North Carolina. They settled on Virginia, apparently because they believed it would be easier to make the purchases.
Despite such cases, Cullen predicted that passing the gun-per-month bill will be difficult. "This has history against us. It has tradition against us," he said, noting the longtime power of the National Rifle Association, the leading opponent of gun control measures, in Virginia.