Jury selection begins in Reese federal gun-smuggling case

[SecularMotion]

LAS CRUCES — Jury selection was completed, and opening arguments began Tuesday for the Deming family ensnared in a federal firearms smuggling case.

Rick and Terri Reese, and their sons Ryin and Remington, are accused of conspiring to sell 34 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition last year to an informant and undercover federal agents posing as straw purchasers for Mexican cartel members.

The Reese family owned and operated New Deal Shooting Sports in Deming, which federal agents targeted in six undercover buys from April 2011 to July 2011.

Attorneys began opening statements after they finished selecting a jury late Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Testimony is expected to begin Wednesday.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_21093471/jury-selection-begins-reese-federal-gun-smuggling-case

[ileus]

1. Sounds like the government may have done the right thing this time around.

Hopefully the closing of this shop won't impact legal buyers. If things work out properly one or two honest business owners should see opportunity and open up new shops.

[gejohnston]

2. Might be worth following

The Reese family owned and operated New Deal Shooting Sports in Deming, which federal agents targeted in six undercover buys from April 2011 to July 2011. The Reese family denies any knowledge that they were selling guns to purported straw purchasers.

Defense lawyers argued in pre-trial hearings that the Reese relatives followed the law, and reported all sales of multiple firearms to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Defense attorneys also accused the federal government of launching a politically-motivated investigation into the Reese family to deflect negative publicity from the fallout of the Operation Fast and Furious scandal.

But I'm missing the larger point.

[SecularMotion]

3. Cartel member testifies against Reese family in gun trial

LAS CRUCES — Wearing an ironed blue dress shirt and khakis, Jose Roman did not look like a mid-level associate of the Juarez Drug Cartel as he testified Thursday in the second day of the Reese family trial.

Yet, Roman, 31, talked openly in U.S. District Court about how in 2010 he transported marijuana, and purchased assault rifles and ammunition for La Linea, the Juarez Cartel's enforcement arm.

Roman, the federal government's key witness, also testified about purchasing 28 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammunition in 2010 from the Reeses' family gun store, New Deal Shooting Sports, in Deming. Roman said he even told some of the defendants that the firearms were bound for Mexico to battle a rival cartel.

Defense attorneys did not have the opportunity Thursday to cross-examine Roman, whom they described in pretrial arguments and opening statements as a manipulative liar looking to deflect attention from his criminal activities. The cross-examinations are expected to begin today.

http://www.lcsun-news.com/las_cruces-news/ci_21114900/cartel-member-testifies-against-reese-family-gun-trial

[GreenStormCloud]

4. A cartel associate openly talking in U.S. court?

Is he under witness protection? Has a deal been cut for his testimony? At this point I a deeply suspicious of the truthfulness of his testimony. The cartels are very efficient about enforcing their policies of silence. The Mafia only killed the people who violated "Omerta", the cartels kill the entire family.