Trial Begins For N.M. Gun Dealer Family Charged With Illegal Sales

AmmoLand Gun News

USA --(Ammoland.com)-A jury was selected and the prosecution and one defense attorney have given opening statements Tuesday in the trial of the Reese family, gun store owners charged in an indictment with conspiracy, aiding and abetting smuggling of firearms, money laundering and making false statements to investigators. Reconvening Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the U.S. District Court in Las Cruces, N.M., a family spokesperson told Gun Rights Examiner that the other three defense attorneys for family members required to retain separate representation would make their opening statements.

“Testimony is expected to begin” in Wednesday’s session, the Las Cruces Sun-News added.

Concerns for the validity and fairness of what the government represented early on as a slam dunk case have surfaced following revelations that the family has been forced into a fixed fight by having to face an opponent with unlimited resources, including the government’s ability to limit their access to defense funds through seizures. Adding to this are acknowledgments that the family dutifully followed rules on purchaser background checks and record-keeping, including tax reporting, did not attempt to collect a premium for any of the firearms involved, that law enforcement officers were routinely employed and supported by the store, and that wife Terri Reese actually attempted to report a suspected straw buyer before the government began investigating her family.

Gun Rights Examiner reported on a hearing held last week where several motions were filed.

“The most notable ones were a motion, by the defense to dismiss based on “outrageous government conduct: Motion(s) in limine (also defense) to redact the Spanish, and translations of Spanish in transcripts, and to turn off volume of Spanish during audio and video tape; and by the prosecution: to prevent any references to Fast & Furious,” supporters of the Reese family wrote in the local Coffee Shop Gossip newsletter.

“The morning started out with Defense Attorney Jason Boyles informing the Judge that ATF…Agent Carlos Valles had not been made available for questioning prior to trial,” the newsletter revealed.

An earlier version of this article appeared at Examiner.com.

David Codrea in his natural habitat

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.DavidCodrea.com.