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Two Texas Men Indicted for Conspiring to Buy Grenade Launcher

MK-19 Fully Automatic Grenade Launcher

U.S. Department of Justice

BIRMINGHAM --(Ammoland.com)- A federal grand jury today indicted two Texas men for surreptitiously trying to buy an automatic grenade launcher, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and ATF Special Agent in Charge Glenn Anderson.

The indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges ADAM EMMANUEL LEWIS, 27, and ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO, 25, with conspiring to possess a machine gun that was not registered to either man in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

The men were attempting to buy an MK-19 fully automatic grenade launcher from an undercover agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the indictment.

“The weapon these individuals sought to obtain is powerful and destructive. It is a dangerous and frightening scenario that anyone would seek to purchase an automatic grenade launcher outside the bounds of law,” Vance said. “The ATF is to be commended for its diligent work that prevented such a destructive weapon from being bought secretly and potentially used criminally,” she said.

“Lewis and Rodriguez-Arellano were looking for a low-key purchase of an illegal grenade launcher, plain and simple,” Anderson said. “Fortunately, this investigation stopped that from happening. Firearm trafficking cases like this one prevent violence, save lives and keep illegal weapons off the street,” he said.

According to the indictment, LEWIS’ and RODGRIGUEZ-ARELLANO’s attempts to buy the grenade launcher developed as follows: LEWIS contacted an ATF confidential informant on Nov. 29 to arrange the purchase of an unregistered automatic grenade launcher. On Dec. 3, both LEWIS and RODGRIGUEZ-ARELLANO traveled from Texas to Cullman in an attempt to buy the weapon. In subsequent phone calls from Dec. 3 to Dec. 15, LEWIS and RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO negotiated the payment and logistics for buying the grenade launcher with an undercover ATF agent.

On Dec. 15, RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO traveled from Texas to Leeds, where he paid the undercover agent about $24,000 for the MK-19 automatic grenade launcher, according to the indictment.

RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO and LEWIS both were arrested Dec. 15. RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO was arrested in Leeds and LEWIS was arrested in Texas. The men could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The ATF investigated the case with assistance from the Cullman County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Enforcement Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Enid Dean Athanas is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

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Animal Rights Group Threatens To Sue FWS If Wolves are Not Introduced Everywhere in USA

Attention All States: Prepare to be Sued Over Lack of Wolves

U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance

Columbus, OH --(Ammoland.com)- Last week, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) if the Service does not create a new nationwide wolf recovery plan.

The CBD filed the notice after the FWS did not respond to an earlier petition filed by the group. In the petition, CBD requested that the FWS create a wolf recovery plan for the lower 48 states.  (AmmoLand Reported on this Plan to force Wolves on the USA in July of 2010)

Specifically, the Center requested that wolves be introduced or their populations bolstered in “at least seven interconnected regions” throughout the continental U.S. This would include: “1) the Pacific Northwest, including the Olympic and Cascade Mountains, 2) the Great Basin, including portions of California, Nevada, and Utah, 3) the southern Rocky Mountains, 4) the northern Rocky Mountains, 5) the Great Plains, 6) the Midwest, and 7) New England.” Basically all of the USA.

The FWS has 60 days to respond before the Center can file a lawsuit.

“Wolves in the Western Great Lakes and Northern Rocky Mountains regions have already far exceeded recovery goals and have become an increasing threat to people and domestic and wild animals,” said Rob Sexton, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation vice president for government affairs. “The reintroduction of more wolves would not be in anyone’s best interest.”

Earlier this year, the USSAF filed a petition with the Service requesting that it remove the wolves in the Western Great Lakes region from the Endangered Species List. This would return management to state wildlife agencies. Recently, the Service issued a press release stating that it intends to seek comments on a schedule that would allow it to delist wolves in the region by the end of 2011.

In the press release, the FWS noted that “wolves continue to exceed recovery goals and are no longer threatened with extinction.”

Previous efforts to delist recovered wolf populations have been reversed as a result of lawsuits filed by animal rights groups. In those cases, the reversals did not question nor overturn the findings by the FWS that wolves have met recovery plan objectives but dealt with technical legal issues.

About:
The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance is a national association of sportsmen and sportsmen’s organizations that protects the rights of hunters, anglers and trappers in the courts, legislatures, at the ballot, in Congress and through public education programs. Visit www.ussportsmen.org.

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