S4Lee
Member
http://www.northjersey.com/news/crimeandcourts/Man_with_500_guns_dodges_a_bullet.html
(I tried to add the following as a comment to the article, but it wouldn't let me for some reason.)
What's with the 'enthusiast' in quotes? Was he something other than an 'enthusiast'? Is this an editorial? I'd appreciate more facts and less speculation and opinion from my news sources.
First, let's consider his firearm collection. If it was a 'stash', as mentioned in the article, it would've implied something hidden, and wouldn't have been casually seen by police when they brought his wife home (not to mention the unfounded shady implications of the word 'stash' by the reporter). Assuming that his collection was a lifelong hobby, he may have bought on the average of 7-8 guns a year during his adult life, well within the "one gun a month" limits that many anti-gun groups push for. When you think about those 7-8 guns, consider how many items you buy a year for your favorite hobby, be it tires for use in autocross ('street racers'), binoculars for birding ('peeping toms / sex offenders'), frequent travel ('smugglers'), cameras, lenses and film and/or batteries for photographers ('terrorists planning an attack'), etc... Is every perfectly innocent hobby or activity going to be scrutinized until one finds something to prosecute for?
"Tens of thousands of bullets" also equates to 60 rounds per firearm assuming 30k bullets for the 500 firearms, a number of which one could easily go through in about 20 minutes at the shooting range. Since he also had the gunpowder on hand, we can also assume those weren't CARTRIDGES (what you actually load into a firearm, of which the bullet is only one of the components), but just the actual BULLETS (the projectiles that come out of the barrel and are sold to reloaders by the hundred to be made into cartridges, but are basically just shaped peices of lead and metal on thier own). Reloading your own bullets is in and of itself an enjoyable hobby for many firearm 'enthusiasts', and a reloader can save a significant amount of money over purchasing factory made ammunition, especially when buying in bulk, so having a few thousand bullets on hand doesn't seem to be a stretch.
So, based on the information in the article, it seems he wasn't actually doing anything illegal, which your article implies. The ONE 30-round mag (according to the article) he had may have been illegal (depending on manufacturing date), but that's not what he was charged with (not to mention that NJ law doesn't provide for any method to legally dispose of such items). Granted, it maybe wasn't the brightest idea to have 800 lbs of gunpowder in the garage, for which he was charged with "creating a community hazzard", but that charge can just as easily apply to the half-empty paint cans and other chemicals stacked in YOUR garage. Nowhere does it sound like this guy had any ill intent toward anyone, as evident in the charges brought against him. It sounds like something the prosecuter dug up because someone felt they had to charge him with SOMETHING. Based on that, does this guy deserve to lose a collection that he spent his entire life building, and is probably worth over $250k, over this?
Edit - Cleaned up text to send to the editors of the paper.
Home : News : Crime & Courts
Crime & CourtsGun 'enthusiast,' 84, avoids jail time Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Last updated: Wednesday April 9, 2008, EDT 5:10 AM BY KIBRET MARKOSSTAFF WRITER
An 84-year-old man who kept nearly 500 guns, 800 pounds of gunpowder and 75,000 rounds of ammunition at his Ridgefield home pleaded guilty Tuesday to creating a community hazard.
Sherwin Raymond had rejected plea offers since his arrest in 2005 and insisted that his stash of rifles and pistols was nothing more than that of a gun enthusiast.
On Tuesday, however, after jurors were picked for his trial in state Superior Court in Hackensack, Raymond took a plea deal that requires him to serve up to five years' probation.
Instead of getting his guns back, Raymond also agreed to have a dealer sell them and turn over the proceeds.
"I feel it's a practical resolution for Mr. Raymond," Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Marybel Ramirez said. "The state doesn't take any pleasure in prosecuting an elderly man, but if you break the law, you will be prosecuted."
Raymond admitted in court that he kept gunpowder in his garage, where static could have sparked an explosion and a fire in the neighborhood.
"I am pleased that the police did a great job and we were able to save the community from a possibly catastrophic explosion," Ramirez said.
Responding to a series of questions from Ramirez and defense lawyer Richard Gilbert, Raymond also admitted that he possessed a large-capacity magazine that could carry up to 30 bullets. It is illegal under state law to own a firearm magazine that carries more than 15 rounds.
Had he been convicted in a trial, Raymond would have faced up to 10 years in prison.
Raymond, however, was not charged with possession of the guns, most of which were not registered. There is no clear legislation or case law that requires the weapons to be registered, prosecutors said.
Despite having two prior convictions, Raymond also could not be charged with violating a law that prohibits certain convicts from possessing weapons.
Raymond, once a licensed physician, was convicted in the 1960s of performing abortions when they were illegal. He was also convicted in federal court on weapons charges in the 1970s, after which his doctor's license was revoked.
The law that prohibits some convicts from purchasing or possessing weapons only covers certain convictions, including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault and sexual assault. It does not cover Raymond's convictions.
Police said they found the stash on May 31, 2005, when neighbors called 911 to alert them that Raymond's wife, Elizabeth Raymond, was wandering around disoriented. Elizabeth Raymond, 83, suffered from Alzheimer's disease, they said.
Officers took her back to her home, where they spotted the guns and gunpowder.
Raymond, whose hearing is impaired, followed the proceedings through transcripts typed onto a computer screen by a stenographer.
At one point he angered Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Roma when he said he couldn't read the words "Explosives" from a photo of a gunpowder container that was seized from his home.
After Roma threatened him with a perjury charge for not being truthful, Raymond's reading improved.
"It says 'Explosives' but I don't know what is in there," he said.
Ramirez told Roma that the gunpowder and the bullets were destroyed by court order.
Investigators have tested the guns and determined that none of them had been used in a crime, prosecutors said.
Raymond is scheduled for sentencing on June 6.
E-mail: [email protected]
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An 84-year-old man who kept nearly 500 guns, 800 pounds of gunpowder and 75,000 rounds of ammunition at his Ridgefield home pleaded guilty Tuesday to creating a community hazard.
JIM ANNESS / THE RECORD
Sherwin Raymond in state Superior Court in Hackensack on Tuesday. Sherwin Raymond had rejected plea offers since his arrest in 2005 and insisted that his stash of rifles and pistols was nothing more than that of a gun enthusiast.
On Tuesday, however, after jurors were picked for his trial in state Superior Court in Hackensack, Raymond took a plea deal that requires him to serve up to five years' probation.
Instead of getting his guns back, Raymond also agreed to have a dealer sell them and turn over the proceeds.
"I feel it's a practical resolution for Mr. Raymond," Assistant Bergen County Prosecutor Marybel Ramirez said. "The state doesn't take any pleasure in prosecuting an elderly man, but if you break the law, you will be prosecuted."
Raymond admitted in court that he kept gunpowder in his garage, where static could have sparked an explosion and a fire in the neighborhood.
"I am pleased that the police did a great job and we were able to save the community from a possibly catastrophic explosion," Ramirez said.
Responding to a series of questions from Ramirez and defense lawyer Richard Gilbert, Raymond also admitted that he possessed a large-capacity magazine that could carry up to 30 bullets. It is illegal under state law to own a firearm magazine that carries more than 15 rounds.
Had he been convicted in a trial, Raymond would have faced up to 10 years in prison.
Raymond, however, was not charged with possession of the guns, most of which were not registered. There is no clear legislation or case law that requires the weapons to be registered, prosecutors said.
Despite having two prior convictions, Raymond also could not be charged with violating a law that prohibits certain convicts from possessing weapons.
Raymond, once a licensed physician, was convicted in the 1960s of performing abortions when they were illegal. He was also convicted in federal court on weapons charges in the 1970s, after which his doctor's license was revoked.
The law that prohibits some convicts from purchasing or possessing weapons only covers certain convictions, including murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault and sexual assault. It does not cover Raymond's convictions.
Police said they found the stash on May 31, 2005, when neighbors called 911 to alert them that Raymond's wife, Elizabeth Raymond, was wandering around disoriented. Elizabeth Raymond, 83, suffered from Alzheimer's disease, they said.
Officers took her back to her home, where they spotted the guns and gunpowder.
Raymond, whose hearing is impaired, followed the proceedings through transcripts typed onto a computer screen by a stenographer.
At one point he angered Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Roma when he said he couldn't read the words "Explosives" from a photo of a gunpowder container that was seized from his home.
After Roma threatened him with a perjury charge for not being truthful, Raymond's reading improved.
"It says 'Explosives' but I don't know what is in there," he said.
Ramirez told Roma that the gunpowder and the bullets were destroyed by court order.
Investigators have tested the guns and determined that none of them had been used in a crime, prosecutors said.
Raymond is scheduled for sentencing on June 6.
E-mail: [email protected]
(I tried to add the following as a comment to the article, but it wouldn't let me for some reason.)
What's with the 'enthusiast' in quotes? Was he something other than an 'enthusiast'? Is this an editorial? I'd appreciate more facts and less speculation and opinion from my news sources.
First, let's consider his firearm collection. If it was a 'stash', as mentioned in the article, it would've implied something hidden, and wouldn't have been casually seen by police when they brought his wife home (not to mention the unfounded shady implications of the word 'stash' by the reporter). Assuming that his collection was a lifelong hobby, he may have bought on the average of 7-8 guns a year during his adult life, well within the "one gun a month" limits that many anti-gun groups push for. When you think about those 7-8 guns, consider how many items you buy a year for your favorite hobby, be it tires for use in autocross ('street racers'), binoculars for birding ('peeping toms / sex offenders'), frequent travel ('smugglers'), cameras, lenses and film and/or batteries for photographers ('terrorists planning an attack'), etc... Is every perfectly innocent hobby or activity going to be scrutinized until one finds something to prosecute for?
"Tens of thousands of bullets" also equates to 60 rounds per firearm assuming 30k bullets for the 500 firearms, a number of which one could easily go through in about 20 minutes at the shooting range. Since he also had the gunpowder on hand, we can also assume those weren't CARTRIDGES (what you actually load into a firearm, of which the bullet is only one of the components), but just the actual BULLETS (the projectiles that come out of the barrel and are sold to reloaders by the hundred to be made into cartridges, but are basically just shaped peices of lead and metal on thier own). Reloading your own bullets is in and of itself an enjoyable hobby for many firearm 'enthusiasts', and a reloader can save a significant amount of money over purchasing factory made ammunition, especially when buying in bulk, so having a few thousand bullets on hand doesn't seem to be a stretch.
So, based on the information in the article, it seems he wasn't actually doing anything illegal, which your article implies. The ONE 30-round mag (according to the article) he had may have been illegal (depending on manufacturing date), but that's not what he was charged with (not to mention that NJ law doesn't provide for any method to legally dispose of such items). Granted, it maybe wasn't the brightest idea to have 800 lbs of gunpowder in the garage, for which he was charged with "creating a community hazzard", but that charge can just as easily apply to the half-empty paint cans and other chemicals stacked in YOUR garage. Nowhere does it sound like this guy had any ill intent toward anyone, as evident in the charges brought against him. It sounds like something the prosecuter dug up because someone felt they had to charge him with SOMETHING. Based on that, does this guy deserve to lose a collection that he spent his entire life building, and is probably worth over $250k, over this?
Edit - Cleaned up text to send to the editors of the paper.