This store looks like they're in pretty serious trouble and has the Milwaukee chief of police really gunning for them.
Looks like a Hi-Point that they recently sold was involved in a officer shooting.
Gun in shooting of officer traced to Badger Guns
By John Diedrich of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 4, 2009
The handgun used to shoot a Milwaukee police officer last week has been traced to Badger Guns, making that store the sole supplier of all the guns used to wound six officers in two years, police said.
Detectives traced the 9mm Hi-Point used in Wednesday's shooting to a sale at Badger in 2007, and police suspect the handgun - a cheap model favored by criminals - was purchased by a "straw buyer," someone who buys a gun for a felon.
Badger in West Milwaukee has been the scene of more straw buying than any other gun shop in the area, according to federal court records.
Nine of 10 straw buyers prosecuted since 2007 made their purchases at Badger Guns or its predecessor, Badger Outdoors, a review of court records shows. In the past five years, the store accounted for 21 of the 27 cases prosecuted.
A top supplier of crime guns for years, Badger has been under increased scrutiny recently.
Police launched an undercover operation two days after a pair of officers were shot in the head on Milwaukee's south side in June. The on-going operation has revealed indications of straw buying at Badger and felons freely going into the store, some to practice shooting.
Milwaukee leaders have demanded changes. Now other gun shop owners and a conservative state lawmaker are questioning Badger's conduct in the sale of the gun used to shoot the two officers.
The Shooters Shop in West Allis, less than three miles from Badger, has not had nearly the number of crime gun traces, according to federal gun-trace data.
Shooters Shop accounted for 3% of the crime guns recovered by Milwaukee from 2006 to Sept. 1 of this year. Badger accounted for 30% of crime guns during the same time.
The Shooters Shop's owner, Kevin Nugent, disputed Badger's argument that its high numbers are explained by its sales volume and proximity to Milwaukee. Nugent said he prevents straw purchases by closely questioning everyone who comes in his business.
"It's called a conscience," Nugent said. "When you are selling a firearm, you have to take personal responsibility to know that you are selling an instrument that could be used for harmful purposes."
Badger's owner, Adam Allan, said he kicks plenty of people out of his store. He added he has been very upset each time after he learned a gun from his store was used to shoot an officer.
"I was extremely disappointed and extremely sorrowful. It was terrible. I never want that to happen," Allan said of the officer shootings.
Milwaukee police Lt. of Detectives Jason Smith said he talked to Allan right after the officers were shot in June with a gun from Badger.
"He said he was sorry about what happened," Smith said. "Two days later, we were stopping felons with guns (at Badger)."
Store to crime scene
While local leaders worry about Badger's high percentage of crime gun sales, they are most concerned about those guns that quickly go from sale to a crime scene.
Data show Badger has accounted for about two-thirds of such guns recovered since 2006, and the store's share of that category is creeping up. Such guns are often linked to straw buyers.
One of the most egregious straw buys at Badger involved a gun used in the June shooting of the two Milwaukee officers in the head, according to police and prosecutors.
Federal court documents in the case provide a rare look inside one apparent straw sale.
In May, Jacob Collins was in Badger with Julius Burton, an 18-year-old who was too young to buy a handgun at a store, according to federal court documents.
"That's the one I want," Burton told Collins, pointing to a .40-caliber Taurus handgun, records show.
Collins, 21, told the clerk he wanted to buy the Taurus. But he slipped up on the federal background form. It asked whether Collins was buying the gun for himself. Collins answered "no." Collins said he was confused by the question.
"The store owner told him, 'Read the form, and put down what you think is right, I can't help you with the form,' " the court document says.
Collins was allowed to change his answer. Collins got the gun and sold it to Burton for $40.
A month later, prosecutors say, Burton used the gun to shoot and gravely injure Officers Graham Kunisch and Bryan Norberg, firing into their heads from a few feet away.
Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm said this sale illustrates the problem at Badger.
"This is exactly the kind of crap we know goes on again and again there," Chisholm said. "What a reasonable store owner or more importantly a reasonable gun seller ought to be able to figure out in five seconds that this has all hallmarks of a straw purchase."
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn called that sale "unconscionable."
"(Allan) knows what he is doing. His people know what they are doing. They know how to give a nod and a wink," Flynn said. "This place is a cancerous lesion on Milwaukee right now. It is attached to us even though it is not in our city, and the poison it creates is seeping onto our streets and causing havoc."
Procedures tightened
Badger's owner, Allan, said he wasn't in the store when the gun used to shoot Officers Norberg and Kunisch was sold - despite what the court document says. He said the sale would not have gone through if someone pointed out a gun and made that comment within earshot of a clerk.
Allan was less concerned about Collins changing his answer on the form. He agreed the question can be confusing.
Allan said he has tightened up procedures at Badger since the June shooting. He said he now bars anyone younger than 21 from coming in the store. He said he also checks the parking lot to see whether people are waiting in the car - often a sign of straw buying. Allan said he kicks plenty of people out of his store he suspects of illegal activity.
"We are always changing. It's a learning process," said Allan, who took over Badger two years ago from his father, Wally, and Mick Beatovic, owners for 20 years. "The vast majority of my customers are decent people. We have to weed through the others."
Several current and former gun store owners said they wouldn't have sold a gun if someone else pointed it out and the buyer initially marked on the form that the gun wasn't for him.
"I can only speak for myself, but if that would have happened in my store, I would have said, 'I can't sell you the gun,' but that is me," said state Rep. Scott Gunderson (R-Waterford), who formerly owned a sporting goods store that sold a small number of guns each year.
"I can't speak for Badger, but I would think as a business owner you would want to do the right thing morally and under the law, and I would hope they are doing that."
Sean Eaton, owner of Fletcher Arms in Waukesha, agreed. "That would definitely be enough to prevent a sale. That is a big flag."
An official from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives declined to comment on the specifics of that sale at Badger but said gun dealers receive training and ongoing instruction on how to prevent sales to straw buyers.
"The dealer can use their discretion. They are not required by ATF or anyone else to complete the sale," said Robert Schmidt, an ATF public information officer.
Nugent from the Shooters Shop said he has developed his probing approach with customers because it makes sense, not because the ATF requires it.
"If government doesn't have the answers for you, you need to come up with them yourself," he said. "We are more intimidating. I take my license very, very serious. I have the right to refuse to sell to anyone for any reason."
Proposed changes to law
Straw buying is a misdemeanor in Wisconsin, but Gunderson and other legislators want to make it a felony. That was part of a package of legislative changes Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's proposed last week.
The mayor also wants to require felons to stay 1,000 feet from a gun shop, require stolen guns be reported and make the second offense of carrying a concealed weapon a felony.
Straw buying is a federal felony, and a handful of cases are charged in federal court in Milwaukee each year.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has issued each of the straw buyer cases sent since 2005, according to data. There have been three this year and four last year.
Federal law also prohibits anyone from selling guns to felons and others prohibited from owning a gun including a straw buyer. But there have been no such cases filed in Milwaukee in at least five years. Prosecutors said that's because they are such hard cases to prove.
Straw buy cases aren't easy and often depend on ATF agents getting a confession.
The maximum sentence is 10 years in prison, but defendants typically receive probation or a short prison sentence. That is because the defendants are not felons. They could not have passed the background check to buy a gun if they were a felon, said Assistant U.S. Attorney John Manning.
Even though prison is not often given in these cases, they send a deterrent message and prevent them from buying another gun, Manning said.
"I have to think the stigma of a felony conviction is something people want to avoid," he said.
Collins, who bought the gun prosecutors say was used to shoot the pair of officers, will be sentenced in January. His attorney, Daniel Stiller, said his client should be punished only for the lie, not the shooting.
"My position is he should be held accountable for what he did but not for the unfortunate acts of someone else," he said.
The investigation continues into who bought the gun used to wound police Officer James Jekanoski last week. It was reported stolen shortly after it was purchased from Badger, a telltale sign of a straw buy, police said.
Looks like a Hi-Point that they recently sold was involved in a officer shooting.
Gun in shooting of officer traced to Badger Guns
By John Diedrich of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 4, 2009
The handgun used to shoot a Milwaukee police officer last week has been traced to Badger Guns, making that store the sole supplier of all the guns used to wound six officers in two years, police said.
Detectives traced the 9mm Hi-Point used in Wednesday's shooting to a sale at Badger in 2007, and police suspect the handgun - a cheap model favored by criminals - was purchased by a "straw buyer," someone who buys a gun for a felon.
Badger in West Milwaukee has been the scene of more straw buying than any other gun shop in the area, according to federal court records.
Nine of 10 straw buyers prosecuted since 2007 made their purchases at Badger Guns or its predecessor, Badger Outdoors, a review of court records shows. In the past five years, the store accounted for 21 of the 27 cases prosecuted.
A top supplier of crime guns for years, Badger has been under increased scrutiny recently.
Police launched an undercover operation two days after a pair of officers were shot in the head on Milwaukee's south side in June. The on-going operation has revealed indications of straw buying at Badger and felons freely going into the store, some to practice shooting.
Milwaukee leaders have demanded changes. Now other gun shop owners and a conservative state lawmaker are questioning Badger's conduct in the sale of the gun used to shoot the two officers.
The Shooters Shop in West Allis, less than three miles from Badger, has not had nearly the number of crime gun traces, according to federal gun-trace data.
Shooters Shop accounted for 3% of the crime guns recovered by Milwaukee from 2006 to Sept. 1 of this year. Badger accounted for 30% of crime guns during the same time.
The Shooters Shop's owner, Kevin Nugent, disputed Badger's argument that its high numbers are explained by its sales volume and proximity to Milwaukee. Nugent said he prevents straw purchases by closely questioning everyone who comes in his business.
"It's called a conscience," Nugent said. "When you are selling a firearm, you have to take personal responsibility to know that you are selling an instrument that could be used for harmful purposes."
Badger's owner, Adam Allan, said he kicks plenty of people out of his store. He added he has been very upset each time after he learned a gun from his store was used to shoot an officer.
"I was extremely disappointed and extremely sorrowful. It was terrible. I never want that to happen," Allan said of the officer shootings.
Milwaukee police Lt. of Detectives Jason Smith said he talked to Allan right after the officers were shot in June with a gun from Badger.
"He said he was sorry about what happened," Smith said. "Two days later, we were stopping felons with guns (at Badger)."
Store to crime scene
While local leaders worry about Badger's high percentage of crime gun sales, they are most concerned about those guns that quickly go from sale to a crime scene.
Data show Badger has accounted for about two-thirds of such guns recovered since 2006, and the store's share of that category is creeping up. Such guns are often linked to straw buyers.
One of the most egregious straw buys at Badger involved a gun used in the June shooting of the two Milwaukee officers in the head, according to police and prosecutors.
Federal court documents in the case provide a rare look inside one apparent straw sale.
In May, Jacob Collins was in Badger with Julius Burton, an 18-year-old who was too young to buy a handgun at a store, according to federal court documents.
"That's the one I want," Burton told Collins, pointing to a .40-caliber Taurus handgun, records show.
Collins, 21, told the clerk he wanted to buy the Taurus. But he slipped up on the federal background form. It asked whether Collins was buying the gun for himself. Collins answered "no." Collins said he was confused by the question.
"The store owner told him, 'Read the form, and put down what you think is right, I can't help you with the form,' " the court document says.
Collins was allowed to change his answer. Collins got the gun and sold it to Burton for $40.
A month later, prosecutors say, Burton used the gun to shoot and gravely injure Officers Graham Kunisch and Bryan Norberg, firing into their heads from a few feet away.
Milwaukee District Attorney John Chisholm said this sale illustrates the problem at Badger.
"This is exactly the kind of crap we know goes on again and again there," Chisholm said. "What a reasonable store owner or more importantly a reasonable gun seller ought to be able to figure out in five seconds that this has all hallmarks of a straw purchase."
Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn called that sale "unconscionable."
"(Allan) knows what he is doing. His people know what they are doing. They know how to give a nod and a wink," Flynn said. "This place is a cancerous lesion on Milwaukee right now. It is attached to us even though it is not in our city, and the poison it creates is seeping onto our streets and causing havoc."
Procedures tightened
Badger's owner, Allan, said he wasn't in the store when the gun used to shoot Officers Norberg and Kunisch was sold - despite what the court document says. He said the sale would not have gone through if someone pointed out a gun and made that comment within earshot of a clerk.
Allan was less concerned about Collins changing his answer on the form. He agreed the question can be confusing.
Allan said he has tightened up procedures at Badger since the June shooting. He said he now bars anyone younger than 21 from coming in the store. He said he also checks the parking lot to see whether people are waiting in the car - often a sign of straw buying. Allan said he kicks plenty of people out of his store he suspects of illegal activity.
"We are always changing. It's a learning process," said Allan, who took over Badger two years ago from his father, Wally, and Mick Beatovic, owners for 20 years. "The vast majority of my customers are decent people. We have to weed through the others."
Several current and former gun store owners said they wouldn't have sold a gun if someone else pointed it out and the buyer initially marked on the form that the gun wasn't for him.
"I can only speak for myself, but if that would have happened in my store, I would have said, 'I can't sell you the gun,' but that is me," said state Rep. Scott Gunderson (R-Waterford), who formerly owned a sporting goods store that sold a small number of guns each year.
"I can't speak for Badger, but I would think as a business owner you would want to do the right thing morally and under the law, and I would hope they are doing that."
Sean Eaton, owner of Fletcher Arms in Waukesha, agreed. "That would definitely be enough to prevent a sale. That is a big flag."
An official from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives declined to comment on the specifics of that sale at Badger but said gun dealers receive training and ongoing instruction on how to prevent sales to straw buyers.
"The dealer can use their discretion. They are not required by ATF or anyone else to complete the sale," said Robert Schmidt, an ATF public information officer.
Nugent from the Shooters Shop said he has developed his probing approach with customers because it makes sense, not because the ATF requires it.
"If government doesn't have the answers for you, you need to come up with them yourself," he said. "We are more intimidating. I take my license very, very serious. I have the right to refuse to sell to anyone for any reason."
Proposed changes to law
Straw buying is a misdemeanor in Wisconsin, but Gunderson and other legislators want to make it a felony. That was part of a package of legislative changes Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's proposed last week.
The mayor also wants to require felons to stay 1,000 feet from a gun shop, require stolen guns be reported and make the second offense of carrying a concealed weapon a felony.
Straw buying is a federal felony, and a handful of cases are charged in federal court in Milwaukee each year.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has issued each of the straw buyer cases sent since 2005, according to data. There have been three this year and four last year.
Federal law also prohibits anyone from selling guns to felons and others prohibited from owning a gun including a straw buyer. But there have been no such cases filed in Milwaukee in at least five years. Prosecutors said that's because they are such hard cases to prove.
Straw buy cases aren't easy and often depend on ATF agents getting a confession.
The maximum sentence is 10 years in prison, but defendants typically receive probation or a short prison sentence. That is because the defendants are not felons. They could not have passed the background check to buy a gun if they were a felon, said Assistant U.S. Attorney John Manning.
Even though prison is not often given in these cases, they send a deterrent message and prevent them from buying another gun, Manning said.
"I have to think the stigma of a felony conviction is something people want to avoid," he said.
Collins, who bought the gun prosecutors say was used to shoot the pair of officers, will be sentenced in January. His attorney, Daniel Stiller, said his client should be punished only for the lie, not the shooting.
"My position is he should be held accountable for what he did but not for the unfortunate acts of someone else," he said.
The investigation continues into who bought the gun used to wound police Officer James Jekanoski last week. It was reported stolen shortly after it was purchased from Badger, a telltale sign of a straw buy, police said.
