Posted on 08/02/2005 9:56:23 AM PDT by robowombat
PADUCAH, Ky. - A soldier pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges that he smuggled machine guns out of Iraq and tried to sell them in the U.S.
Sgt. Beau Uran, 24, based at Fort Campbell, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully import the weapons. He is the third person to plead guilty in the case.
Sgt. Nigel Brown, 31, and his uncle, Guy Brown, 46, of Hopkinsville, pleaded guilty in July to the same charges. They face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fines when they are sentenced Oct. 25.
Uran could get a lighter sentence because of his cooperation with authorities, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Theilhorn said in court Monday.
While in Iraq, Nigel Brown and Uran allegedly acquired 17 Russian-made AK-47s and an assault rifle. Prosecutors say they sawed the bottoms off oxygen tanks, placed the guns inside and welded the bottoms back on so the tanks could be shipped back to Fort Campbell.
After returning home, Brown and Uran allegedly retrieved the tanks and asked Guy Brown to help sell them. According to prosecutors, the uncle ended up offering the guns to an undercover ATF agent for $18,000.
Both soldiers continue to serve at Fort Campbell, a fort spokeswoman said.
What a dunce.
Dang! I got some relatives in Kentucky too. If I'd known, I could have bought me one.
Serves all of them right.
Send them to Leavenworth.
Can't say I agree. I still think the Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986 blatantly unConstitutional.
Now, I will agree that these guys were stupid for blatantly violating it, but that's a different thing altogether.
Ping.
I remember one of my sergeants trying to smuggle weapons, live .50 cal ammo, and some live grenades out of Saudi Arabia after the Gulf War. Luckily, one of the troops ratted him out, and he wasn't a sergeant for much longer.
Fair enough, if under such direct orders.
Doesn't change my thoughts on the Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986.
And I'll comment that working trophies were pretty common in previous wars, though this goes beyond that.
The National Firearms Act (NFA) which regulates fully automatic weapons is more pertinent to this case.
When you consider the numerous military regs and import laws that were violated, these guys are going to be breaking big ones into little ones for a long time.
General Orders in the SW Asia theater of operations forbid deployed servicemembers from bringing to the US any "trophies". Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice prescribes punishment for violating any and all orders.
more appropriately they were violating NFA '34, ammended by GCA '68. prior to vietnam, it was common practice for soldiers to return home with any and all weapons they managed to get their hands on.
Thank you for the clarification, sir.
And I'm thinking the orders forbidding are there more because of modern PC on this issue.
i don't know, the order is redundant. it's entirely possible tho, that the military has issued the order so that they can run the trial in military fashion, rather than letting the trial be run by civilian courts, prosecuted by batfe.
but that's just my speculation.
dumbasses. if you commit a felony, don't tell ANYONE - unless you have known them FOREVER and KNOW they will keep their mouths shut.
A jarhead in my best friend's battalion got nailed for smuggling arms and cash. Sent them home inside a TV set.
He would have skated if someone hadn't have heard him bragging about it. DUmbass.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.