Sad day in NYS

[cdd1]

I didn't see this posted elsewhere.

We are now on the road to convicting our otherwise law abiding veterans for selling scary looking guns...


SILVER CREEK MAN BECOMES FIRST ARREST UNDER NEW GUN LAWS
ALBANY – A Chautauqua County man appears to be the first person arrested under New York’s new gun-control law, charged with selling newly banned assault-style weapons to an undercover police officer.

Benjamin M. Wassell, 32, of Silver Creek, was accused of twice selling weapons now prohibited under the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, according to State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.

If Wassell is convicted of the felonies, he faces a possible prison sentence of seven years.

The sales to a State Police undercover investigator took place at Aunt Millie’s Restaurant and at Lakeshore Lanes in the Town of Hanover, according to a criminal complaint against Wassell obtained Thursday by The Buffalo News.

State police arrested Wassell on Thursday, and he was arraigned in Hanover Town Court. He could not be reached to comment, and prosecutors said he did not have an attorney.

“By selling these illegal firearms, Mr. Wassell’s actions had potentially dangerous consequences for New Yorkers,” said Schneiderman, whose office conducted the joint investigation with the State Police. “We have seen far too much gun violence in our state in recent months, and the sale of illegal semiautomatic weapons will not go unpunished."

Schneiderman’s office believes the arrest is the first in the state since the gun-control legislation was passed two months ago.

Prosecutors alleged that Wassell on Jan. 24 tried to sell a Del-Ton AR-15 rifle to a police investigator operating undercover. The gun is considered a banned weapon now in New York, and selling it is a Class D felony, because it had several military features, including a pistol grip, telescoping butt stock and bayonet mount.

Wassel also faces a Class A misdemeanor charge for knowingly making a false statement to police.

The investigator and Wassell finalized the deal during a meeting at Aunt Millie’s Restaurant, where the weapon was sold for $1,900, and included 299 rounds of ammunition and six large-capacity clips, the complaint states.

The sale was made nine days after the NY SAFE Act was passed by legislators and signed into law by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.

The investigator kept in contact with Wassell after the first sale to try to purchase another weapon, according to the state complaint.

The second sale to the undercover investigator took place Feb. 24 in the parking lot of Lakeshore Lanes and involved an Armalite AR-10 Magnum semiautomatic weapon. The sale was made for $2,600 and included 21 rounds of ammunition.

Both transactions were recorded by the investigator. In the second sale, the investigator told Wassell, according to the complaint, that he or she had a felony conviction for a domestic violence incident.

The complaint states that Wassell was recorded on tape responding: “The whole felony, banned-for-life thing, it’s stupid.’’

The NY SAFE Act bans the sale of assault-style weapons, includes new gun registration requirements, tracks ammunition sales, requires mental health professionals to report patients deemed a threat to themselves or others so police can confiscate any weapons they might own and adds new penalties for crimes committed with guns.

Wassell, authorities said, was released on his own recognizance Thursday because he has no prior convictions and is not considered a flight risk.

Wassell is an Iraq War veteran, according to a law enforcement source. “He was very knowledgeable about weaponry,” the source said.

When Wassell sold the first gun, it would have been illegal even before the NY SAFE Act because the gun had multiple military-style features, authorities said. They noted that second gun sale was considered a SAFE Act violation because the gun had one military-style feature.

“To arrest a person on entrapment, I don’t think is a good idea,” Harold “Budd” Schroeder, chairman of the Shooters Committee on Political Education, or SCOPE, told The News on Thursday evening.

“It’s a law that should be illegal,” he added, “because it doesn’t do anything to cut down on gun violence. Maybe by the time it gets to trial, it will be repealed.”


http://m.buffalonews.com/story/?story=3&sec=top

[flguy]

Not really that sad.. The seller sounds like a dumb ass that didn't care who he sold it to or how he sold it.. I don't think NY ever had a P2P sale (legal anyway) with out using an FFL.. If the story is true the guy should go to jail. He is part of the problem not the solution.

[steamtownwelder]

Not really that sad.. The seller sounds like a dumb ass that didn't care who he sold it to or how he sold it.. I don't think NY ever had a P2P sale (legal anyway) with out using an FFL.. If the story is true the guy should go to jail. He is part of the problem not the solution.

Oh man. At risk of getting banned for name calling, you sound like more of a dumb ass than the man selling personal property to another person. The only thing he did wrong was get caught.

[twency]

Oh man. At risk of getting banned for name calling, you sound like more of a dumb ass than the man selling personal property to another person. The only thing he did wrong was get caught.

Would you say the same about someone in PA who knowingly sold a rifle to a (supposedly) convicted felon?

[internet troll]

I don't like the SAFE act or think that most people should lose their right to self defense for life (with some exceptions).
. I am also not a big fan of sting operations.

But the seller in this case was a fool. He knowingly and willfully broke the law. The guy told him he was a felon and he still chose to go through with the sale. He further admitted that he knew selling to a felon was a crime. I have no sympathy for him.

[Chazman321]

I don't like the SAFE act or think that most people should lose their right to self defense for life (with some exceptions) upon a few things. I am also not a big fan of sting operations.

But the seller in this case was a fool. He knowingly and willfully broke the law. The guy told him he was a felon and he still chose to go through with the sale. He further admitted that he knew selling to a felon was a crime. I have no sympathy for him.

Me either. That's like a few weeks ago we had someone report a gun stolen. He had a Glock .40 sitting on the passenger seat of his car and gave someone a ride, and was surprised the gun wasn't there! I've met people that have used guns in trade for drugs, reported them stolen, and then get the guns back when the person that had it is arrested or they're found... This guy seems to care only about the money. He knew he was breaking the law, the cop said he had a felony and he sold to him anyways. He's a dumbass and deserves to go to prison...


-Chaz

[Big5]

I say he is a fool.

[jerkin]

Even though I agree with him, the whole prohibited for life thing IS stupid, he brought this on himself with that second sale knowingly selling to a felon. Sounds like he got greedy and saw dollar signs getting $1900 out of a $700 Delton.

This part of the article makes me shake my head:

The gun is considered a banned weapon now in New York, and selling it is a Class D felony, because it had several military features, including a pistol grip, telescoping butt stock and bayonet mount.

How many people have pistol grips, adjustable stocks and bayonet mounts killed? Morons.

[truecrimson]

Not really that sad.. The seller sounds like a dumb ass that didn't care who he sold it to or how he sold it.. I don't think NY ever had a P2P sale (legal anyway) with out using an FFL.. If the story is true the guy should go to jail. He is part of the problem not the solution.

So what about all of the people refusing to obey the new law? What about all of the people advocating them marching on Albany en masse to publicly state that will not obey in protest?

Oh man. At risk of getting banned for name calling, you sound like more of a dumb ass than the man selling personal property to another person. The only thing he did wrong was get caught.

Exactly.

Would you say the same about someone in PA who knowingly sold a rifle to a (supposedly) convicted felon?

I would.

We may all soon have to make a choice about obeying or not obeying bad laws.

[StingyGunner]

We may all soon have to make a choice about obeying or not obeying bad laws.

Nobody seems to want to admit this.