Split verdict for Deming gun shop owners
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) — A federal jury Wednesday acquitted a Deming-area family of charges they helped smuggle guns to Mexican cartels. But jurors convicted three of the four Reese family members on lesser charges of making false statements on federal firearms sales forms.
Rick Reese, his wife, Terri, and their sons, Ryin and Remington, were accused of selling weapons and ammunition from the family's New Deal Shooting Sports store to an informant who repeatedly claimed the arms were bound for a Mexican drug cartel.
Remington Reese, 20, was acquitted on all counts. His 25-year-old brother Ryin was convicted of two counts of making false statements about gun sales while his parents were convicted of one count each of making false statements. The judge threw out money laundering charges against the family.
Defense attorneys claimed the family was set up by a self-proclaimed cartel member who made a deal with federal prosecutors after being arrested on marijuana distribution charges in January 2011. The charges all stemmed from undercover operations federal agents launched with the informant, Jose Roman, following his arrest.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Split-verdict-for-Deming-gun-shop-owners-3755090.php#ixzz22ZkMNNDV
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