SACRAMENTO — Two Sacramento
County sheriff's deputies, a firearms dealer and a Sacramento man have been
indicted on charges that they engaged in a scheme to purchase and sell dozens
of weapons illegally.
Federal and local
authorities announced the indictments Friday at the U.S. Attorney's Office in
Sacramento after months of investigation led to charges of conspiracy and
dealing in firearms without a license.
Sheriff's Deputies Ryan
McGowan, 31, and Thomas Lu, 42, both Elk Grove residents, were each charged
with dealing in firearms without a license.
Robert Snellings, a
61-year-old Rancho Murieta man and licensed federal firearms dealer, was
charged with five counts of conspiracy for allegedly making false statements on
firearms records.
Ulysses Simpson Grant Early
IV, a 36-year-old Sacramento man, was charged with one count of conspiracy for
allegedly making a false statement on a firearms record.
A federal indictment
charges Snellings engaged in straw purchases of weapons involving McGowan, Lu
and other people who were not indicted.
Sacramento District
Attorney Jan Scully also filed charges in Superior Court against McGowan,
officials said.
The indictment alleges the
deputies used their status as law enforcement officers to buy firearms not
available to the public, then resold them through Snellings.
Early was one of the people
who made such a purchase, the indictment charges.
In the alleged scheme,
Snellings' Firearms sold or transferred 33 weapons to McGowan and 29 weapons to
Lu between 2008 and late 2011, when the investigation became public.
The indictment alleges that
many of the weapons were then sold back to Snellings, who kept them or sold
them to people who weren't law enforcement officers.
The investigation, which
has been under way since fall, included probes of a Roseville police officer
and a Sacramento police officer.
McGowan's attorney, William
Portanova, said the deputy is a hobbyist who did not intend to violate any
laws.
"This case should
serve as a warning to gun hobbyists everywhere that the tangle of state and
federal statutes involving the recreational purchases of firearms can be a
nightmare, even for trained professionals," Portanova said. "He is no
gun dealer, and he is not in the business, and he has made no profit."
Federal officials say
McGowan's involvement went beyond the hobby stage, and that he purchased and
sold weapons that were later converted to assault weapons. The weapons were
recovered after a violent crime in Daly City, officials said.
A search warrant alleged
McGowan bought 41 handguns since 2008 and transferred 25 of them, including 19
transferred within a year of the purchase.
Some purchases were made
through a social network site devoted to weapons enthusiasts, and the search
warrant indicated McGowan would visit the site using the screen name SacDep.
The SacDep screen user
listed his occupation as working at the Sacramento Department of Human Waste.
The Roseville and
Sacramento officers involved in the probe were not charged despite the fact
that U.S. Attorney Ben Wagner acknowledged they broke the law in the same
fashion as the deputies who were indicted.
"They were involved in
limited transactions and did not personally profit," Wagner said.
Nonetheless, both officers resigned their posts months ago. McGowan and Early are due in federal court
this afternoon, and McGowan also is charged in Superior Court with the sale of
large-capacity ammunition magazines and possession of assault weapons and
steroids.
The deputies were suspended
shortly after the investigation became public. Lu has since resigned three
weeks ago, but McGowan has been fighting efforts by the department to get him
to quit.