Perry pardons Vidor gun dealer; case went to Supreme Court
By PAM EASTON Associated Press Writer
August 22, 2003
A former Vidor gun dealer was pardoned Friday by Texas Gov. Rick Perry of a
felony conviction in Mexico in a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Thomas Lamar Bean's appeal lost at the high court as he was trying to regain
his rights after he was convicted in Mexico for having a box of ammunition
that was left in his vehicle when he drove across the border.
"We are elated that it finally got done," Bean's attorney, Larry Hunter,
said of the pardon. "What this does is it restores his civil rights on the
state level. It will give us the opportunity to go back to the Secretary of
Treasury to ask him to reconsider on the federal level. "At least we have
one jurisdiction straightened out."
The Mexican conviction will stand but will be removed from Bean's record in
Texas, said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Perry. "There is a state law that
specifically allows a governor to grant a pardon for a violation of a
foreign law," she said. "It would have no bearing on Mexico."
Bean, 63, was a licensed federal firearms dealer when he was arrested in
Mexico in March 1998. Before crossing the border for dinner, he had ordered
his associates to remove any guns or ammunition from the vehicle, but more
than 200 bullets in an armrest tray were overlooked. Bean spent 5 months in
a Mexican prison before he was returned to the U.S. as part of a prisoner
exchange program, then spent another month in a federal lockup.
Felons are barred from owning or possessing guns in the United States if the
conviction occurred in this country or elsewhere, but they can ask the
government for an exception.
Last year, Bean took his case to the Supreme Court to regain his gun
rights -- something a district judge ruled he deserved to have restored. The
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also supported the judge's ruling. But the
Supreme Court shut the door on his efforts, ruling felons can't go straight
to court to get their gun rights restored and must go through a federal
agency. That agency, however, has been banned by Congress since 1992 from
processing requests.
"This whole thing has just been a nightmare," Hunter said. "This whole
plight has been because somebody left some shells in the back of a
Suburban." Bean, who now sells cars in Port Arthur, said his Mexican
conviction ended his days as a gun dealer.
After publicity about Bean's case, Mexico reduced the crime for bringing
ammunition across its borders to a misdemeanor, and only a fine now is
imposed on first-time offenders, according to court records.
http://caller.com/ccct/state_texas_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_876_2203458,00.h
tml
By PAM EASTON Associated Press Writer
August 22, 2003
A former Vidor gun dealer was pardoned Friday by Texas Gov. Rick Perry of a
felony conviction in Mexico in a case that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Thomas Lamar Bean's appeal lost at the high court as he was trying to regain
his rights after he was convicted in Mexico for having a box of ammunition
that was left in his vehicle when he drove across the border.
"We are elated that it finally got done," Bean's attorney, Larry Hunter,
said of the pardon. "What this does is it restores his civil rights on the
state level. It will give us the opportunity to go back to the Secretary of
Treasury to ask him to reconsider on the federal level. "At least we have
one jurisdiction straightened out."
The Mexican conviction will stand but will be removed from Bean's record in
Texas, said Kathy Walt, a spokeswoman for Perry. "There is a state law that
specifically allows a governor to grant a pardon for a violation of a
foreign law," she said. "It would have no bearing on Mexico."
Bean, 63, was a licensed federal firearms dealer when he was arrested in
Mexico in March 1998. Before crossing the border for dinner, he had ordered
his associates to remove any guns or ammunition from the vehicle, but more
than 200 bullets in an armrest tray were overlooked. Bean spent 5 months in
a Mexican prison before he was returned to the U.S. as part of a prisoner
exchange program, then spent another month in a federal lockup.
Felons are barred from owning or possessing guns in the United States if the
conviction occurred in this country or elsewhere, but they can ask the
government for an exception.
Last year, Bean took his case to the Supreme Court to regain his gun
rights -- something a district judge ruled he deserved to have restored. The
5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also supported the judge's ruling. But the
Supreme Court shut the door on his efforts, ruling felons can't go straight
to court to get their gun rights restored and must go through a federal
agency. That agency, however, has been banned by Congress since 1992 from
processing requests.
"This whole thing has just been a nightmare," Hunter said. "This whole
plight has been because somebody left some shells in the back of a
Suburban." Bean, who now sells cars in Port Arthur, said his Mexican
conviction ended his days as a gun dealer.
After publicity about Bean's case, Mexico reduced the crime for bringing
ammunition across its borders to a misdemeanor, and only a fine now is
imposed on first-time offenders, according to court records.
http://caller.com/ccct/state_texas_news/article/0,1641,CCCT_876_2203458,00.h
tml
