Idaho Arrests Utards....

[JoseCuervo]

Boy, I bet they thought they were having great fun....

Police seize illegal weapons in hunting bust
Originally published Wednesday, August 25, 2004
By Chip Thompson
Times-News writer

OAKLEY -- Fans of Bugs Bunny should be glad that Elmer Fudd never had the kind of arsenal seized Sunday by Cassia County sheriff's deputies near Oakley.

Shortly after 1 a.m., officers responded to a report of a person "spotlighting rabbits," meaning the rabbits were being hunted with the aid of a spotlight, near Bostetter Road a few miles west of Oakley, according to the police report.

When they arrived, officers spotted a pickup truck driving through the sagebrush sweeping the area with the headlights and a spotlight on the passenger side. The truck stopped at one point, and six shots were fired from a large-caliber gun, the report said.

After a few minutes, the truck pulled out of the brush and onto Bostetter Road, where it stopped and fired two more shots. Shots continued to be fired from the road over the next two minutes before officers felt it was safe to move in on the truck, the report said.

When the driver and four passengers exited the truck, the officers found seven guns including a fully automatic M-16 rifle and a high-capacity pistol magazine stamped "for law enforcement only" belonging to Johnathan Shults, 26, of Midvale, Utah.

Shults originally denied that the gun was fully automatic, but after the officer pointed out that an M-16 hammer and auto sear had been installed in the semi-automatic XM-15 rifle, he admitted it was and that he had done the work himself, according to the police report.

The officer asked which one of the group was a police officer and had authority to carry the high-capacity magazine, and Shults said it belonged to a relative of his, the report said. The officer said the relative would have to contact the sheriff's department to get it back.

Possession of the rifle and the magazine without a permit constitutes a violation of the National Firearms Act of 1934, and conversion of semi-automatic weapons to fully automatic has been prohibited since 1986, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Web site.

Cassia County Prosecutor Al Barrus instructed the officers to contact the ATF regarding the matter of the seized guns. Cassia County Sheriff Jim Higens said an ATF agent will likely come inspect the guns within two weeks, and federal charges could follow.

Penalties for possession of the rifle could be as much as a $250,000 and 10 years in prison, as well as seizure of the vehicle used to transport the gun. Transportation of the gun across state lines without prior authorization could bring additional penalties.

Shults and four others, Cody Black, 22, of Lehi, Utah, Joshua Waldron, 26, of Salt Lake City, Troy Winmill, 36, of Burley and his son Cody, 14, were cited for hunting with the aid of artificial light. Shults was taken to the Mini-Cassia Criminal Justice Center in order to sort out the issue of the illegal weapons and was later released, the report said.

Gary Hompland, a conservation officer for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game, said using spotlights for hunting on public land requires a permit that is very restrictive. Spotlight permit requirements include use of a red lens and a maximum .22-caliber ammunition and prohibit shooting from a vehicle.

Other possible Fish and Game violations could include hunting species that are out of season, such as cottontail rabbits. But Hompland said the group was likely hunting jack rabbits, which are not a protected species. Use of fully automatic weapons in hunting is only prohibited for protected species as well, he said.

Local gun dealers said the seizure of the weapons was a surprise to them.

Georgia Hauser, co-owner of The Reloading Center in Burley, said her shop sells semi-automatic weapons but is not licensed to sell fully automatic guns.

"Younger kids come in asking about (fully automatic guns)," Hauser said, "but we can't sell them without getting a special license." She added that the shop is not interested in obtaining the license or selling fully automatic weapons.

"I'm against them. You don't need an automatic weapon," said Terry Quinn, a retired Rupert police officer who now works at the Burley Pawn Shop.

"The thing that scares me about them, it's like these kids with guns -- you get caught up in the heat of the moment and pull it out and use it," he said.

Quinn also commented on what the officers must have gone through as they waited to approach the truck.

"It must have been scary for the officers," he said. "You don't know what you've got. It could be guys practicing for a bank robbery."

Barrus said all those cited will be required to appear in court and enter pleas. If they plead innocent, a trial date would be set. The likely punishment for the hunting violation would be a fine, he said..

 

[1_pointer]

Heck, now I wonder why I haven't seen many jacks about 10mi. south of there!

 

[MarvB]

That could end up being some expensive bunny bopping! I did have to laugh at the one line

It could be guys practicing for a bank robbery."

Yeah...that happens a lot