Desertdog
Member
This guys intentions are good, but I think he is going about it all wrong.
Prison ordered in gun case
Oak Harbor firearms control foe to appeal
By RICK NEALE
Staff writer
http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/news/stories/20040325/localnews/147010.html
TOLEDO -- Oak Harbor gun control opponent Francis J. Warin has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for mailing a homemade pistol and silencer to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Toledo.
Warin, 73, was charged with two counts of possessing an unregistered firearm, mailing a firearm, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has been prohibited from owning firearms since 1975 -- he was convicted for carrying a 9 mm submachine gun into the Toledo federal courthouse.
He was sentenced on the five felonies Monday by U.S. District Judge David Katz.
"I thought it was a fair sentence," Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Weldon said. "Judge Katz departed downward -- the original sentencing for Mr. Warin was 63 to 78 months (per count). We believe it's fair, given the circumstances.
"We never wanted this prosecution to begin with. It was Mr. Warin who forced this prosecution."
Warin, who is of French descent, is an outspoken critic of American gun control laws. In May, he mailed a homemade .22 caliber handgun and a silencer -- made of a toilet paper roll, mesh and foam -- to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Kiroff.
His Oak Harbor return address was on the package. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raided his home at 307 Harvest Lane and seized more than 46,000
rounds of various caliber ammunition, a 40 mm grenade, four rifles, two handguns and diagrams and materials used to make weapons, records indicate.
An ATF agent also testified Warin mailed weapons to the Oak Harbor Police Department and a U.S. District magistrate in Toledo.
Warin's lawyer, Spiros Cocoves of Toledo, said the legal fight will continue despite Monday's sentencing.
"We intend on appealing. I think that's about all I can tell you," he said.
Cocoves declined further comment.
During a hearing last year, Cocoves said Warin's primary goal was to bring his case before a federal court so he could challenge the constitutionality of weapons laws.
Katz also ordered Warin to pay $2,500 in fines and sentenced him to two years of supervised release after his prison sentence expires. Weldon said he did not know where Warin will be jailed -- there are no federal corrections facilities in Ohio. In light of Warin's age, Weldon said his physical and mental conditions will be assessed before a decision is made.
In 2001, Warin called in a bomb threat to the Sandusky FBI office, prompting ATF agents to raid his home and seize 22 homemade weapons.
Contact staff writer Rick Neale at 419-734-7506 or [email protected]
Prison ordered in gun case
Oak Harbor firearms control foe to appeal
By RICK NEALE
Staff writer
http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/news/stories/20040325/localnews/147010.html
TOLEDO -- Oak Harbor gun control opponent Francis J. Warin has been sentenced to 33 months in federal prison for mailing a homemade pistol and silencer to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Toledo.
Warin, 73, was charged with two counts of possessing an unregistered firearm, mailing a firearm, and two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He has been prohibited from owning firearms since 1975 -- he was convicted for carrying a 9 mm submachine gun into the Toledo federal courthouse.
He was sentenced on the five felonies Monday by U.S. District Judge David Katz.
"I thought it was a fair sentence," Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Weldon said. "Judge Katz departed downward -- the original sentencing for Mr. Warin was 63 to 78 months (per count). We believe it's fair, given the circumstances.
"We never wanted this prosecution to begin with. It was Mr. Warin who forced this prosecution."
Warin, who is of French descent, is an outspoken critic of American gun control laws. In May, he mailed a homemade .22 caliber handgun and a silencer -- made of a toilet paper roll, mesh and foam -- to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lawrence Kiroff.
His Oak Harbor return address was on the package. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raided his home at 307 Harvest Lane and seized more than 46,000
rounds of various caliber ammunition, a 40 mm grenade, four rifles, two handguns and diagrams and materials used to make weapons, records indicate.
An ATF agent also testified Warin mailed weapons to the Oak Harbor Police Department and a U.S. District magistrate in Toledo.
Warin's lawyer, Spiros Cocoves of Toledo, said the legal fight will continue despite Monday's sentencing.
"We intend on appealing. I think that's about all I can tell you," he said.
Cocoves declined further comment.
During a hearing last year, Cocoves said Warin's primary goal was to bring his case before a federal court so he could challenge the constitutionality of weapons laws.
Katz also ordered Warin to pay $2,500 in fines and sentenced him to two years of supervised release after his prison sentence expires. Weldon said he did not know where Warin will be jailed -- there are no federal corrections facilities in Ohio. In light of Warin's age, Weldon said his physical and mental conditions will be assessed before a decision is made.
In 2001, Warin called in a bomb threat to the Sandusky FBI office, prompting ATF agents to raid his home and seize 22 homemade weapons.
Contact staff writer Rick Neale at 419-734-7506 or [email protected]
