# Three Illinois Officers Charged For Possessing Submachine Guns At Home



## kwflatbed (Dec 29, 2004)

*MICHAEL SHAW*
_St. Louis Post-Dispatch _










The charges:

Three officers and a doctor are accused of having submachine guns

What's next:

All four face prosecution in federal court in East St. Louis.

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Three Illinois State Police officers, who could legally handle submachine guns for their jobs, have been charged with violating federal firearms regulations for allegedly having them at home, officials announced Tuesday.

The troopers -- two assigned to District 11 at Collinsville and one to District 18 at Litchfield -- were placed on paid leave while their cases are handled in federal court in East St. Louis.

Also charged is a doctor, formerly of Glen Carbon, who allegedly lent one of the weapons to a trooper who said he test-fired it and gave it back.

There is no allegation that the men trafficked in illicit weapons or committed any crime beyond illegally possessing them. Authorities would not say what launched the investigation or how federal agents found out about the weapons.

U.S. Attorney Ed McNally said the fact that three defendants are law enforcement officers does not matter.

"Teddy Roosevelt said, 'No man is above the law and no man below it,'" McNally said at a news conference. "If the United States obtains sufficient evidence that the law has been violated, whether by a law enforcement officer or any other public official or a private person, they will be prosecuted."

One of the defendants, Special Agent John Yard, 36, of Collinsville, had recently worked with federal agents investigating public corruption at East St. Louis City Hall. He's a nine-year veteran of the State Police.

Charges say Yard admitted borrowing a Colt AR-15 rifle that could be switched to fire in a fully automatic mode.

According to court documents, Dr. Harold Griffiths, 69, of Spaulding, Ill., formerly of Glen Carbon, told federal agents the gun had been converted into a fully automatic weapon. Spaulding is near Springfield.

Griffiths was among those charged in indictments Jan. 11 that were unsealed Tuesday.

The others are Sgt. James V. Vest, 39, of O'Fallon, who like Yard works in the Collinsville district, and Senior Master Trooper Greg Mugge, 51, of Jerseyville, who is assigned to Litchfield. Both admitted keeping rifles altered for automatic fire in their homes, according to the affidavits.

Vest, a 16-year State Police veteran, said he bought his M-4/M-16 rifle in 1998 in California, according to court documents. Mugge, with 21 years in the department, told officials he bought his AR-15 rifle from a now-deceased licensed dealer in Harrisburg, Ill., in the late 1970s or early '80s.

Under federal firearms laws, not even police officers can own weapons that can fire a steady stream of bullets with one squeeze of the trigger.

All four entered pleas of not guilty Tuesday and were released without having to post bail. None of them could be reached for comment.

They had agreed to be interviewed by agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to affidavits filed with the charges, and all consented to searches of their homes. The three weapons cited in the charges were all seized.

The charge of illegal possession of an automatic weapon carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, although federal guidelines suggest substantially less punishment for people with no previous criminal background.

A State Police spokesman said that if the troopers are convicted, a merit board would decide the fate of their jobs.

State Police Director Larry Trent attended the news conference and described his accused employees as "three otherwise good officers with good records."

"I'm very disappointed and I deeply regret the judgment used by three of our officers," Trent said.


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## Clouseau (Mar 9, 2004)

Wow, nice pinch feds..nice pinch.  
Don't worry about the truck load of illegal AK 47's coming in, or Osama, or ******...the cops will take care of them.

Yes, I'm ready for another audit!


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