THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240388
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LYNN WALTZ, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
A Navy SEAL has pleaded guilty in federal court to buying and selling five machine guns.
Charles Frederick Walton, a member of Navy SEAL Team 4, faces up to five years in the penitentiary for the illegal gun sales, including purchasing an AK-47 fully-automatic machine gun in Honduras and bringing it to Virginia.
Walton, who faces disciplinary action or expulsion from the Navy, bought and sold three AK-47s and two Uzi 9mm submachine guns.
Walton's attorney, Troy Spencer, said Walton was just trading guns with other collectors. He said Walton was a family man with no prior criminal record.
``Navy SEALS are commando units. They use machine guns just like a surgeon uses a scalpel,'' Spencer said. ``These guys become very familiar with them and it's quite easy for them to become desensitized to the fact that they're illegal.''
``This is the unfortunate conflict of the world of the commando soldier and law of civilian world,'' Spencer said. ``He's not a criminal. He sold them. They were trading them around amongst themselves. He wasn't selling them to a bunch of kooks in Montana. It was a hobby situation. Like golfers trade golf clubs, they trade trophies of war. I hate to see this happen to somebody like this.''
Walton purchased an AK-47 fully-automatic machine gun in Norfolk and resold it in Deckerville, Mich. Two other guns were sold in Palms, Mich.
Walton will be sentenced July 26.
KEYWORDS: NAVY SEAL ILLEGAL GUN SALES by CNB