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Feds Convict Texan For Selling Gun...

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Chris Farris View Drop Down
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    Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:02

FEDS CONVICT TEXAN FOR SELLING A GUN TO ILLEGAL ALIEN WITH TEXAS DRIVERS LICENSE

  In Federal District Court on July 20, 2010, the ATF won a conviction from an Austin jury that defies logic and reason. In a trial before Federal Judge Sam Sparks, government lawyers conceded Texas resident Paul Copeland did not know his buyer was an illegal alien, but the jury they should convict him anyway because he "had reasonable cause to believe" he was selling to an illegal alien because the two men and a boy who were present at his table at the time of the sale: 1) were Hispanic, 2) spoke Spanish, and 3) wore cowboy clothing. And the jury did as asked. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Freel acted as lead prosecutor in the case.

 
  The firearm transaction at issue occurred on January 16, 2010, at a gun show at the North Austin Events Center, at 10601 N. Lamar Blvd., in Austin, Texas. Undercover ATF agents followed Mr. Huerta, his son, and another Hispanic male, Hipolito Aviles, around the "Texas Gun show" that day, and claimed to observe Huertas transaction. Austin P.D. used Copelands case as the reason to close down the gun show, leading to a protest by Austin residents in front of APD headquarters on January 25.

 

 Mr. Copeland is a 56 year old Cedar Creek resident and Vietnam veteran who liked to buy, sell, and trade firearms as a hobby. On January 16, however, he had the misfortune to sell a handgun to Leonel Huerta Sr., who spoke both English and Spanish. Huerta Sr. negotiated his purchase from Copeland in English, showing Copeland his Texas Drivers License. At Copelands trial Huerta admitted on the witness stand, that he is in the country illegally, (Huerta Sr. had previously admitted this fact to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Leo Buentello). ATF Agent Shawn Kang claimed he saw Huerta later hand off the gun to Aviles. Despite these admissions, Huerta Sr. was never arrested, charged, or deported. Instead, his presence at the gun show was used to entrap an American citizen into an unwitting violation of a federal gun control law. Huerta Sr., who is a resident of the City of Austin, appeared as a witness at the trial, admitted he was in the country illegally before federal prosecutors and a federal judge, yet he was allowed to leave the courtroom under his own power. To date Huerta Sr. has not been prosecuted for his purchase, possession, or disposition of the handgun he bought from Copeland, while Copeland is now a convicted felon.
 

  "Instead of busting the illegal alien for buying, they bust the citizen for selling," commented Paul Velte, attorney and founder of Peaceable Texans for Firearms Rights, a gun-owners' rights advocacy group from Austin. Velte asked, "who was in a better position to know the buyers immigration status, the buyer or the seller?" He also said, "What happened to Paul Copeland should enrage all Americans. The Federal Government is using illegal aliens to entrap citizens lawfully exercising their right to sell firearms. The illegal alien walks free, but the citizen gets convicted. The same government charged with controlling immigration is the one using illegal immigrants to attack its own citizens. Does this make any sense? It makes no sense unless the purpose is to discourage attendance at gun shows and frighten citizens from selling their firearms to other citizens."

 
  Velte pointed out that "There is no way for a citizen to know who is here legally or not. In fact, under Austins sanctuary city policy, not even the police officer at the door of the gun show was allowed to ask a persons immigration status, yet the average Texan inside the show is expected to assume that a person standing before them with a Texas drivers license is in the country illegally just because they look Mexican and speak Spanish." Velte noted that the federal governments lawsuit against Arizona was based on that very type of conduct: Concluding someone could be here illegally based on their looks or their language. Velte said gun owners in his group are outraged, and they want to know:
  1. Why is the illegal alien who purchased the gun, Leonel Huerta Sr., still living in Austin ?
  2. Why does he still have a Texas Drivers license?
  3. Why is ATF using illegal aliens to set up and convict American citizens?
  4. What has he been promised for his cooperation?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:09
Shocked  thats an outrage,  I already see this going to the next level though.  Supreme court here we come.

Edited by SVT_Tactical - September/22/2010 at 12:21
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WestOfPecos Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:14
It is amazing that they would convince him on this evidence. And enraging.

But - I guess you have to be careful about what people write about the case. We may not have all the facts. I have been caught before, reacting really strongly to something I had read, only to find out later that what had been written about the case was less than complete... The game the newspapers play with "out of context" citations can fool you very easily.

As for Huerta - it is customary for prosecutors to make deal with the small fish to get to what they think are the big fish. They got Aviles, who obviously was the guy to go for, the real purchaser. I am not worried about Herta. It is the US Vet for whom I am feeling.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote WestOfPecos Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:24
OK - I am reading this again and I am now understanding better. Huerta was buying for Aviles, and both Aviles and Huerta were at the table. Huerta was "buying" but Aviles was the real buyer.

Well - I think this changes things quite a bit. The seller was selling a firearm, and, depending upon the circumstances, it might/ should have been clear to him that he was selling to a strawman. Just to dot the i's here - if you are selling a firearm to someone who is here with his friend, but, for every part of the discussion, the "friend"is the one who needs to give his assent, and who is obviously driving the purchase - you should figure out you are selling to a shill. I have absolutely no pity for those who do that. This is how firearms get into felons' hands  - because of unscrupulous sellers.

If that's what happened, imho he deserves everything he got. If that's not the case, I am really sorry for him, and I hope he will get out on appeal. Hopefully, the (Texas) jury got it right.

No flaming please - we all have the right to our own opinions:-)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:31
But here is the kicker, the ATF's direct quote when selling form private individual to private individual is for the seller to make sure they are a resident of the same state, by showing Him the texas drivers liscense he proved to the sell that the buyer was qualified to purchase the gun.  The guy that got tossed in jail should sue Texas for issuing a DL to an illegal to stir the pot.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote supertool73 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:33
From what I have read elsewhere is that he is an FFL holder and he sold the gun without doing the necessary FFL paperwork.  If he really did that then this is his own fault. 

But still that does not justify that they did not arrest the illegal for 1 being illegal and 2 buying a gun illegally. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Kickboxer Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:35
Originally posted by WestOfPecos WestOfPecos wrote:

OK - I am reading this again and I am now understanding better. Huerta was buying for Aviles, and both Aviles and Huerta were at the table. Huerta was "buying" but Aviles was the real buyer.

Well - I think this changes things quite a bit. The seller was selling a firearm, and, depending upon the circumstances, it might/ should have been clear to him that he was selling to a strawman. Just to dot the i's here - if you are selling a firearm to someone who is here with his friend, but, for every part of the discussion, the "friend"is the one who needs to give his assent, and who is obviously driving the purchase - you should figure out you are selling to a shill. I have absolutely no pity for those who do that. This is how firearms get into felons' hands  - because of unscrupulous sellers.

If that's what happened, imho he deserves everything he got. If that's not the case, I am really sorry for him, and I hope he will get out on appeal. Hopefully, the (Texas) jury got it right.

No flaming please - we all have the right to our own opinions:-)
Opinion,untempered by fact,is ignorance.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote SVT_Tactical Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 12:36
well i guess once all the facts are on the table it would be a better time to judge.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BeltFed Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/22/2010 at 14:50
I'm smelling a lot of rotting fish here. I'd like to know the real story. It wouldn't suprise me if the ATF acted improperly, it's not like their track record is pristeen.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Ed Connelly Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: September/23/2010 at 19:48
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