Drill instructor convicted after rifle jams

[zeplin]

GENTLEMEN & LADIES, THIS IS NOT GOOD

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WEAPONS OF CHOICE
Drill instructor convicted after rifle jams
Guardsman guilt of illegally transferring 'machine gun' after firearm malfunctions

Posted: January 13, 2008
1:00 a.m. Eastern


© 2008 WorldNetDaily.com
A drill instructor in the National Guard has been convicted in a Wisconsin federal court of illegally transferring a machine gun after a rifle he loaned to a student malfunctioned, setting off three shots before jamming.
The verdict of guilty on one count in the case against David Olofson was confirmed yesterday by the clerk's office in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
That means now that anyone whose weapon malfunctions is subject to charges of having or handling a banned gun, according to an expert witness who reports that the particular problem is a well-known malfunction and was even the subject of a recall from the manufacturer.

"If your semiautomatic rifle breaks or malfunctions you are now subject to prosecution. That is now a sad FACT. I guess we know now what Sen. Kennedy meant when he said he looked forward to working with [Acting Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director] Mike Sullivan on Gun control issues, after his committee approved him for full Senate vote," Len Savage, a weaponry expert who runs Historic Arms LLC, said in a blog.
"To those in the sporting culture who have derided 'black guns' and so-called 'assault weapons'; Your double barreled shotgun is now next up to be seized and you could possibly be prosecuted if the ATF can get it to 'fire more than once,'" he wrote in a blog run by Red's Trading Post.

Red Trading Post manager Ryan Horsley
"Hey, but don't worry," Savage said. "The people testing it have no procedures in writing and the testing will be in secret. Also if you know of information that proves YOUR innocence, maybe the ATF won't claim that it's tax information at your trial and prevent YOUR judge from viewing it."
He told an interview with Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership that Olofson had been instructing a man in the use of guns, and the student asked to borrow a rifle for some shooting practice.
"Mr. Olofson was nice enough to accommodate him," Savage said. So the student, Robert Kiernicki, went to a range and fired about 120 rounds. "He went to put in another magazine and the rifle shot three times, then jammed," Savage said.
A couple of police officers who also were at the ranged immediately approached him and started asking questions about the "automatic" fire, and he told them it was a borrowed weapon.
"Mr. Olofson, being a responsible person, went down to the police station and said, 'I'm in the National Guard. I know what a machine gun looks like. That's not it,'" Savage said.
But instead of having the issues resolve, Savage said, it got worse.
He reported that because of the malfunction, the rifle was seized and sent to the Firearm Technology Branch, the testing arm of the federal agency.
"The examined and test fired the rifle; then declared it to be 'just a rifle,'" Savage said. "You would think it would all be resolved at this point, this was merely the beginning."

He said the Special Agent in Charge, Jody Keeku, asked for a re-test and specified that the tests use "soft primered commercial ammunition."

"FTB has no standardized testing procedures, in fact it has no written procedures at all for testing firearms,"

Savage said. "They had no standard to stick to, and gleefully tried again. The results this time...'a machinegun.'

ATF with a self-admitted 50 percent error rate pursued an indictment and Mr. Olofson was charged with 'Unlawful transfer of a machinegun.'.

Not possession, not even Robert Kiernicki was charged with possession (who actually possessed the rifle), though the ATF paid Mr. Kiernicki 'an undisclosed amount of money' to testify against Mr. Olofson at trial," Savage said.
And then during the trial, the prosecution told the judge it would not provide some information defense lawyers felt would clear their client, Savage continued. That included the fact that the rifle's manufacturer, Olympic Arms, had been issued a recall notice for that very model in 1986 over an issue of guns inadvertently slipping into full automatic mode, if certain parts were worn or if certain ammunition was used.
Ryan Horsley, who posts the Red's Trading Post blog, said the results were "very concerning."
"Basically if your Ruger 10/22, Browning Citori Over and Under or Remington 11-87 malfunction and fire more than one round at a time; the ATF will now consider it a machine gun," he wrote.
He told WND he's had personal experience with guns that malfunction and fire more than one bullet. Even double-barreled shotguns, if both shells would be released at once, now could be considered machine guns and illegal, he said.
"This precedent is very dangerous," he said.
Defense attorneys in the Olofson case couldn't be reached immediately to determine whether an appeal would be pursued, but Savage noted the arguments by assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Hannstad, who handled the prosecution.
"Haanstad claimed the law does not exempt a malfunction. He claims that it states 'any weapon that shoots more than once without manual reloading, per function of the trigger is a machinegun.' To clarify when I was on the stand, I asked him, 'Are you saying if I take my Great Granddaddy's double barrel out and I pull one trigger and both barrels go off, it's a machinegun?' He went back to … 'any weapon that shoots…'" Savage said.
On the Red's blog, commenters were incensed.
"'Innocent until proven guilty' has been transformed by the AFT into 'guilty until framed,' said LibertyPlease.
Horsley also told WND the 2008 edition of Firearms Law Deskbook quotes from a 1999 case in which the court concluded the law on automatic weapons "is not intended to trap the unwary innocent, and well intentioned citizen who possess an otherwise semi-automatic weapon that, by repeated use of the weapon, by the inevitable wear and tear of sporting activities, or by means of mere inattention, happenstance, or illfortune, fires more than semi-automatically."

[Blackdog F4i]

I have a sneaking suspicion this will be shot down on appeal.

The lack of a standardized test procedure reeks of railroading.

Keep your weapons in good order, and if you get a double, DO NOT continue to fire without attempting to diagnose the issue.

[zeplin]

I have a sneaking suspicion this will be shot down on appeal.

The lack of a standardized test procedure reeks of railroading.

Keep your weapons in good order, and if you get a double, DO NOT continue to fire without attempting to diagnose the issue.

I agree. However; it should have never gone to trial. You'd almost think this judge was a transfer from the 9th circuit court in Kalipornea.

[jwise]

What about the police officers WHO FAILED TO USE THE SENSE GOD GAVE THEM!

This is one of the biggest reasons I became a LEO. To keep GOOD PEOPLE OUT OF THE CRIMINAL INJUSTICE SYSTEM! This is ridiculous!

Oh, let's see, a novice has a malfunction that causes a few rounds to pop out. For all we know, it was accidentally bump-fired. Did the police officers test it? Did they have an armorer do a function test? Was the "suspect" a good, upstanding citizen who was trying to do the right thing, or was he a hood who was hiding in the darkness?!

I am "incensed!" But not at the ATF, or the Judge, but the POLICE OFFICERS WHO TOOK THIS UP IN THE FIRST PLACE!

[Blackdog F4i]

I would bet any amount of money the guy that made the arrest was a rookie or a non-gun guy.

jwise.......you, I, or many of the other LEO's that frequent this section could probably tell with a quick field strip if a weapon was "modified" for full auto or "failed" to full auto. But then again it takes thinking about ruining another american's life to go that extra mile.

[reils49]

Am I missing something???

This guy was in the guard, shooting a guard weapon that fired in 3 round burst?

Wheres the problem? Maybe I need glasses.

[JTShooter]

No, they just threw in the fact that he's a DI in the NG. The weapon and student have nothing to do with the NG.

I read it as he was helping somone learn how to shoot and loaned him a personal rifle to shoot. It malfunctioned and now he's in trouble. He just so happens to be in the NG.

[reils49]

Oh, thanks about that. I was a little confused about the whole military involvement. I didnt read the whole thing though.

[zeplin]

Here's a video update. They actually did convict the guy.:mad:

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2008/03/13/ldt.tucker.govt.guns.cnn

[JTShooter]

That should surprise me... but it doesn't....

[Mstangfk]

i fail to see that a person could be convicted if they never tested the rife to be sure that it was or wasnt modified to fire more than one round per trigger pull.

ive had military issue M-4's spit out two rounds before..and ive bump fired a single shot AR.

[Surf]

Absolutely 100% absurd!

[Surf]

FWIW maybe Federal should be held accountable. We had a huge batch of defective primers that blew out and got into the lower receiver causing a malfunction of the trigger mech which caused full auto fire. Good thing for them it was LE and they were full auto M4A1's.

That case, the way I read it is ridiculous!

[Ten-32]

WTF?!? And with a conservative Presidential administration, too?????? This is BS.

Then again, it is Wisconsin... One of the few states to hate guns almost as much as Illinois.

[toasterlocker]

I'm normally not a black helicopters and tin-foil hat thinking kind of person, but that actually has me pretty paranoid, especially seeing that he was convicted. I hope to God the poor guy doesn't end up serving any time for this crap.:mad:

[Fëanor]

Now, with my VAST :rolleyes: legal knowledge accumulated from Law & Order episodes:

I thought they had to prove intent to prove a crime?

[GGG]

I thought they had to prove intent to prove a crime?

They did prove intent. He "intended" to give it to the other guy to shoot. They could not prove he made it a machine gun in the first place. That was a malfunction, so instead they proved that he "unlawfully transfered" it. :rolleyes:

At least his church was BATFE approved.

[Fëanor]

Why isn't Olympic Arms also being charged? What about the FFL who handled the original transfer?

If it is a machine gun now, it was a machine gun when it left Olympic Arms.

Ridiculous that they think they're acting logically. When something goes wrong, the correct response is:

1 - Yell profanities until you feel better
2 - Fix it

[Blackdog F4i]

If it is a machine gun now, it was a machine gun when it left Olympic Arms.

How did you jump to that conclusion? Under your assumption, every illegally modified weapon was done so at the factory?

I am not saying this is just. I don't have enough facts to make a determination. Something about the whole case dosent sound right. The BATFE is careful about who they charge. Charging Olympic would bring a ton of lawyers and money to the table. ;)

[zeplin]

The whole thing makes my blood boil. In my opinion, this guy is getting railroaded just like Ramos & Compean.

[XD_Operator]

AAHHHHHHHH!!! It's bad enough IL hates gun's then this comes up. I just caught the last of CNN's story about this and I have been looking for it ever since so thanks for the post. Well if I was the LEO there when this happened. I'd open it up look for an auto sear or any thing weird and that would be the end of it. Just like my Sgt. says "people don't have the common sense God gave a billie goat".....nuff said.

[Blackdog F4i]

I still would like to know how it went from a "whoops" on a range to the BATFE getting involved.

[Fëanor]

How did you jump to that conclusion? Under your assumption, every illegally modified weapon was done so at the factory?

I am not saying this is just. I don't have enough facts to make a determination. Something about the whole case dosent sound right. The BATFE is careful about who they charge. Charging Olympic would bring a ton of lawyers and money to the table. ;)Sorry, I didn't mean to make a blanket statement. I was only referring to this specific incident, where there were no illegal modifications to the gun, and it was defective from the factory:

...the rifle's manufacturer, Olympic Arms, had been issued a recall notice for that very model in 1986 over an issue of guns inadvertently slipping into full automatic mode, if certain parts were worn or if certain ammunition was used.

I didn't actually mean that they should charge Olympic Arms. I just wanted to point out how ridiculous their logic is for selectively charging the guy for owning a defective gun.

I still would like to know how it went from a "whoops" on a range to the BATFE getting involved.That's what jwise pointed out. How the heck did some cops go from having a nice day on the range, to persecuting this guy because they didn't know how to simply open up his rifle?

[knxdep20]

Blackdog, you say it best. The weapons should have been pre-inspected.

[GLOCKMASTER]

Just got the below in an email........

CNN Story (http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2008/03/13/ldt.tucker.govt.guns.cnn)

However, it appears Lou Dobbs might not have had all the facts. According to most of the discussions online that I've seen, including statements by the defendant himself, it appears he had replaced many of the internal parts of his gun with M16 parts, and he knew that by moving the selector switch past the FIRE position to the unmarked position the gun would sometimes fire more than one round per trigger pull. This guy was assembling rifles for sale without a proper FFL, and apparently knew exactly what he was doing when installing the M16 parts.



In addition, he had apparently been playing a game of chess with local LE and ATF for years, having been arrested on various misdemeanor gun charges, etc.



I don't know all the facts, but the general consensus seems to be that the guy knew (or should have known) that ATF had published a warning that installing the parts as he did created the potential of building a machine gun under the definition of ATF regulations, and that he had spent years challenging local law enforcement and the ATF on a variety of issues. So he had painted a bullseye on his own back and then got caught stepping over the line.

[JTShooter]

See? See? Always someone out to fook it up for the rest of us. If he REALLY was putting those parts in that rifle and he REALLY was playing a game of "chess" with the ATF, then he gets what he deserves.

[Fëanor]

it appears he had replaced many of the internal parts of his gun with M16 partsWhich parts? I am not finding it likely that he put every possible M16 part into his gun, minus a DIAS, just so that he could have a gun that would "sometimes" fire more than one round per trigger pull and then subsequently jam.

Especially because of the fact that Olympic Arms had issued a recall for the problem.

In addition, he had apparently been playing a game of chess with local LE and ATF for years, having been arrested on various misdemeanor gun charges, etc.This directly contradicts when they said he has no criminal record.

I guess it is possible that he had the intention of creating a machine gun but I'm not thinking so.

[GLOCKMASTER]

Which parts? I am not finding it likely that he put every possible M16 part into his gun, minus a DIAS, just so that he could have a gun that would "sometimes" fire more than one round per trigger pull and then subsequently jam.

Especially because of the fact that Olympic Arms had issued a recall for the problem.

This directly contradicts when they said he has no criminal record.

I guess it is possible that he had the intention of creating a machine gun but I'm not thinking so.

Go back and read the top part of my post.Evidently you missed that part of my post stating that I received that information in an email. I just cut and pasted the email.



However I do find it hard to believe that he was charged just because the weapon malfunctioned and fired more than one round with one press of the trigger. After I read the email and put it all together, what was in the email made more sense than some of the details in the story.

[zeplin]

"Mr. Olofson, being a responsible person, went down to the police station and said, 'I'm in the National Guard. I know what a machine gun looks like. That's not it,'" Savage said.
But instead of having the issues resolve, Savage said, it got worse.
He reported that because of the malfunction, the rifle was seized and sent to the Firearm Technology Branch, the testing arm of the federal agency.
"The examined and test fired the rifle; then declared it to be 'just a rifle,'" Savage said. "You would think it would all be resolved at this point, this was merely the beginning."

He said the Special Agent in Charge, Jody Keeku, asked for a re-test and specified that the tests use "soft primered commercial ammunition."
"FTB has no standardized testing procedures, in fact it has no written procedures at all for testing firearms,"

Savage said. "They had no standard to stick to, and gleefully tried again. The results this time...'a machinegun.'

ATF with a self-admitted 50 percent error rate pursued an indictment and Mr. Olofson was charged with 'Unlawful transfer of a machinegun.'.

Not possession, not even Robert Kiernicki was charged with possession (who actually possessed the rifle), though the ATF paid Mr. Kiernicki 'an undisclosed amount of money' to testify against Mr. Olofson at trial," Savage said.
And then during the trial, the prosecution told the judge it would not provide some information defense lawyers felt would clear their client, Savage continued. That included the fact that the rifle's manufacturer, Olympic Arms, had been issued a recall notice for that very model in 1986 over an issue of guns inadvertently slipping into full automatic mode, if certain parts were worn or if certain ammunition was used.


Maybe I'm all wet, but I think I smell something rotten here.

[Fëanor]

Go back and read the top part of my post.Evidently you missed that part of my post stating that I received that information in an email. I just cut and pasted the email.Sorry, I was under the impression that you were e-mailed the CNN link and the rest was what you were saying.

As usual neither side makes perfect sense and the truth might be somewhere in between.

[GLOCKMASTER]

Sorry, I was under the impression that you were e-mailed the CNN link and the rest was what you were saying.

As usual neither side makes perfect sense and the truth might be somewhere in between.

I agree. I think it is somewhere in between. The information I received came from someone within the gun industry.

[zeplin]

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Wednesday, May 28, 2008



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WEAPONS OF CHOICE
WorldNetDaily
30 months in jail for broken gun!
Judge hands down penalty for misfire from 20-year-old rifle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Posted: May 27, 2008
9:32 pm Eastern




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WorldNetDaily

A federal judge has ordered a 30-month prison sentence for a man whose rifle misfired, letting loose three shots at a firing range, prompting 2nd Amendment supporters to warn their constituents how easily they, too, can become a "gun felon."

"It didn't matter the rifle in question had not been intentionally modified for select fire, or that it did not have an M16 bolt carrier or sear, that it did not show any signs of machining or drilling, or that that model had even been recalled a few years back," said a commentary in Guns Magazine on the case against David R. Olofson, of Berlin, Wis.

"It didn't matter the government had repeatedly failed to replicate automatic fire until they replaced the ammunition with a softer primer type. It didn't even matter that the prosecution admitted it was not important to prove the gun would do it again if the test were conducted today," the magazine said. "What mattered was the government's position that none of the above was relevant because '[T]here's no indication it makes any difference under the statute. If you pull the trigger once and it fires more than one round, no matter what the cause it's a machine gun.'

"No matter what the cause.

"Think about if your semiauto ever malfunctions. Because that's how close you could be to becoming a convicted 'gun felon,'" the commentary said.

WND reported earlier when Olofson, a drill instructor in the National Guard, was convicted in a federal court for illegally transferring a machine gun.

The verdict came in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

An expert witness told WND the conviction means anyone whose weapon malfunctions is subject to charges of having or handling a banned gun.

(Story continues below)




"If your semiautomatic rifle breaks or malfunctions you are now subject to prosecution. That is now a sad FACT," wrote Len Savage, a weaponry expert who runs Historic Arms LLC.

"To those in the sporting culture who have derided 'black guns' and so-called 'assault weapons'; Your double barreled shotgun is now next up to be seized and you could possibly be prosecuted if the ATF can get it to 'fire more than once,'" he wrote in a blog run by Red's Trading Post.

"Hey, but don't worry," Savage said. "The people testing it have no procedures in writing and the testing will be in secret."

He said during an interview with Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership that Olofson had been instructing a man in the use of guns, and the student asked to borrow a rifle for some shooting practice.

"Mr. Olofson was nice enough to accommodate him," Savage said. So the student, Robert Kiernicki, went to a range and fired about 120 rounds. "He went to put in another magazine and the rifle shot three times, then jammed."

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel said Olofson, 36, is free until he gets a letter notifying of his date to report for confinement, and his lawyer, Brian Fahl, promised an immediate appeal with the help of the National Rifle Association.

He said the rifle, which was subject to a manufacturer's recall because of mechanical problems at one point, malfunctioned because of the way it was made.

But he also warned of the potential problems from broken guns.

"If you have a multiple firing, it looks like you can be prosecuted," he told the newspaper.

The judge, Charles Clevert, said he believed Olofson knew about the gun, or should have.

"This was a man who has considerable knowledge of weapons, considerable knowledge of machine guns," Clevert said, according to the Journal-Sentinel. "Mr. Olofson, in this court's view, has shown he was ignoring the law."

Prosecutors said Olofson loaned the Olympic Arms gun to Kiernicki, whose burst of three shots prompted federal investigators to confiscate the gun for testing.

Savage said once the government got the gun, things got worse.

"They examined and test fired the rifle; then declared it to be 'just a rifle,'" Savage said. "You would think it would all be resolved at this point, this was merely the beginning."

He said the Special Agent in Charge, Jody Keeku, asked for a re-test and specified that the tests use "soft primered commercial ammunition."

"FTB has no standardized testing procedures, in fact it has no written procedures at all for testing firearms," Savage said. "They had no standard to stick to, and gleefully tried again. The results this time...'a machinegun.' ATF with a self-admitted 50 percent error rate pursued an indictment and Mr. Olofson was charged with 'Unlawful transfer of a machinegun.'. Not possession, not even Robert Kiernicki was charged with possession (who actually possessed the rifle), though the ATF paid Mr. Kiernicki 'an undisclosed amount of money' to testify against Mr. Olofson at trial," Savage said.

And then during the trial, the prosecution told the judge it would not provide some information defense lawyers felt would clear their client, Savage continued. That included the fact that the rifle's manufacturer had been issued a recall notice for that very model in 1986 over an issue of guns inadvertently slipping into full automatic mode, if certain parts were worn or if certain ammunition was used.

Olofson eventually was convicted of and now sentenced for transferring a machine gun.

WND also reported bloggers had a heyday when a federal agent apparently assigned to the same office that did the Olofson investigation left her gun inside the secured area at Milwaukee's airport.

The incident had gotten only nominal publicity, with mostly local reporters carrying the story. According to the Associated Press, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent, who was not identified by authorities, left her gun in the restroom at the conclusion of a long trip.

The special agent alerted authorities at some time later, after she had left the airport, according to Guy Thomas, a spokesman. He said the abandoned gun was recovered either by local authorities or a civilian.





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