Posted on 04/29/2014 5:57:28 PM PDT by smokingfrog
A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy has agreed to plead guilty to illegally building an assault rifle, marking the first plea agreement by one of 20 sheriff's officials charged or indicted since December in an ongoing federal investigation of the Sheriff's Department, authorities said Monday.
Richard White Piquette admitted in a document filed in federal court last week that he manufactured a Noveske Rifleworks N-4 .223-caliber rifle with an eight-inch barrel. Under federal law, the rifle's barrel length should have been at least 16 inches, said Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.
The charge carries up to 10 years in prison. Piquette could formally enter his plea as early as this week, though his sentencing will take place at least several weeks later, Mrozek said.
Piquette, who was previously assigned to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility, also admitted possessing a shotgun that had been stolen from the Sheriff's Department and three assault weapons that are banned under California law, according to the plea agreement. The deputy was not charged in connection with those weapons, but his admission will probably affect his sentence.
As part of Piquette's agreement with federal prosecutors, a separate charge of possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle will be dropped and Piquette must resign from the Sheriff's Department.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Definition of an SBR and how you can legally own one. This is a FEDERAL REQUIREMENT. Doesn’t have anything to do with California.
In the United States, it is a federal felony to possess an SBR without paying a $200 tax to the BATFE. BATFE notification is required when transporting an SBR across state lines; this is accomplished by filing Form 5320.20 in advance of the travel date. One must be cautious not to take an SBR into a state where the SBR is prohibited. One can take an SBR through a state where the weapon is prohibited when on a direct route and have prior approval from the BATFE with a Form 5320.20. One must be careful not to take an SBR into international waters, as there is a proper procedure to return with the SBR to the United States.[3]
Purchasing a short-barreled rifle is accomplished by filing a BATFE Form 4, Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of a Firearm, and paying a $200 tax. A short-barreled rifle must be transferred by a Class 3 or a Class 2 SOT dealer. When an individual wishes to build a short-barreled rifle, he or she must beforehand submit a completed BATFE Form 1, Application to Make and Register a Firearm, along with $200 for payment
Most CA gun owners KNOW this is a no-no. We exist on a thin line during each trip to the range, it seems.
By the way, who ratted him out? Or a self-rat (S S forgot to S).
“I assume he could have bought the barrel legitimately and installed it on an AR pistol, but his crime was that the gun had a buttstock?”
I believe you are correct. Since Heller and McDonald, these laws make no sense at all.
None of these laws make much sense. Even in a state that allows SBRs or machine guns, a would-be owner is still subject the whims of local chief law enforcement officers who need to sign off on the Form 4.
Seriously? His first mistake was building a 5.56mm “rifle” with a pistol-length barrel.
Anyone familiar with guns knows that that firing that round in a barrel that short would make a deafening report and a blinding muzzle flash. The velocity of the round - which is where it gets it’s lethality - would be seriously degraded.
Dumb cop.
You’d lose about 1,000 fps. Not sure how much louder it would be.
Sounds like he got off easy compared to Randy Weaver and his family and his dog. Probably had something to do with him being a brother officer...
Stupid gun laws.
8” barrel with a pistol grip fine and dandy. Put a shoulder stock on it and it is a federal felony.
I am glad to see a cop get busted? Maybe if more were thrown in jail they would realize how stupid some laws and pressure to change them.
My buddy bought an Uzi, here in CA, 30 years ago; semi auto, 16” barrel. We went to the Pomona Fair Gun Show. He bought a part to convert it to fully auto (the bolt, I think), if it was slightly modified, by drilling a hole, in it. The description that the seller had on his table was “paperweight”. Next to that was an 8” barrel, described as a “pipe”. American ingenuity, at it’s finest :)
“You’d lose about 1,000 fps. Not sure how much louder it would be.”
This thread says that with 55 grain .223 bullet, you drop down to 2600 fps from 3000 fps when you go from a 16 inch barrel down to a 9 inch barrel.
Obviously, this can vary a significant amount.
http://www.sniperforums.com/forum/cartridges-calibers/31642-223-loads-short-barreled-weapon.html
I read somewhere that the Bushmaster Carbon pistol with a 7.25 inch barrel has a muzzle velocity of around 1,750 fps.
That is dropping down to .22 magnum level.
I didn’t mention “assault rifle”. Was your post intended for someone else?
It would be so loud that you would not want to be near it. Firing an AR-15 with a 16” barrel in an enclosed space w/o hearing protection is painful. I can’t imagine the decibel level from an 8” barrel. All that powder that gives it the extra 1000fps in a longer barrel would be burning outside the barrel.
More a response to the title if thread
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