Feds Convict Texan for Selling a Gun to Illegal Alien With Texas Driver’s License

**Andy** · 09-03-2010, 11:14 AM

NEWS RELEASE
Peaceable Texans For Firearms Rights

Contact: Paul Velte, 512-296-5563 Release: 9/3/2010

FEDS CONVICT TEXAN FOR SELLING A GUN TO ILLEGAL ALIEN WITH TEXAS DRIVER’S LICENSE

In Federal District Court on July 20, 2010, the ATF won a conviction from an Austin jury that defies logic and reason. In a trial before Federal Judge Sam Sparks, government lawyers conceded Texas resident Paul Copeland did not know his buyer was an illegal alien, but the jury they should convict him anyway because he “had reasonable cause to believe” he was selling to an illegal alien because the two men and a boy who were present at his table at the time of the sale: 1) were Hispanic, 2) spoke Spanish, and 3) wore cowboy clothing. And the jury did as asked. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Freel acted as lead prosecutor in the case.

The firearm transaction at issue occurred on January 16, 2010, at a gunshow at the North Austin Events Center, at 10601 N. Lamar Blvd., in Austin, Texas. Undercover ATF agents followed Mr. Huerta, his son, and another Hispanic male, Hipolito Aviles, around the “Texas Gunshow” that day, and claimed to observe Huerta’s transaction. Austin P.D. used Copeland’s case as the reason to close down the gunshow, leading to a protest by Austin residents in front of APD headquarters on January 25.

Mr. Copeland is a 56 year old Cedar Creek resident and Vietnam veteran who liked to buy, sell, and trade firearms as a hobby. On January 16, however, he had the misfortune to sell a handgun to Leonel Huerta Sr., who spoke both English and Spanish. Huerta Sr. negotiated his purchase from Copeland in English, showing Copeland his Texas Driver’s License. At Copeland’s trial Huerta admitted on the witness stand, that he is in the country illegally, (Huerta Sr. had previously admitted this fact to Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Special Agent Leo Buentello). ATF Agent Shawn Kang claimed he saw Huerta later hand off the gun to Aviles. Despite these admissions, Huerta Sr. was never arrested, charged, or deported. Instead, his presence at the gunshow was used to entrap an American citizen into an unwitting violation of a federal gun control law. Huerta Sr., who is a resident of the City of Austin, appeared as a witness at the trial, admitted he was in the country illegally before federal prosecutors and a federal judge, yet he was allowed to leave the courtroom under his own power. To date Huerta Sr. has not been prosecuted for his purchase, possession, or disposition of the handgun he bought from Copeland, while Copeland is now a convicted felon.

“Instead of busting the illegal alien for buying, they bust the citizen for selling,” commented Paul Velte, attorney and founder of Peaceable Texans for Firearms Rights, a gun-owners rights advocacy group from Austin. Velte asked, “who was in a better position to know the buyer’s immigration status, the buyer or the seller?” He also said, “What happened to Paul Copeland should enrage all Americans. The Federal Government is using illegal aliens to entrap citizens lawfully exercising their right to sell firearms. The illegal alien walks free, but the citizen gets convicted. The same government charged with controlling immigration is the one using illegal immigrants to attack its own citizens. Does this make any sense? It makes no sense unless the purpose is to discourage attendance at gunshows and frighten citizens from selling their firearms to other citizens.”

Velte pointed out that “There is no way for a citizen to know who is here legally or not. In fact, under Austin’s ‘sanctuary city’ policy, not even the police officer at the door of the gunshow was allowed to ask a person’s immigration status, yet the average Texan inside the show is expected to assume that a person standing before them with a Texas driver’s license is in the country illegally just because they look Mexican and speak Spanish.” Velte noted that the federal government’s lawsuit against Arizona was based on that very type of conduct: Concluding someone could be here illegally based on their looks or their language. Velte said gun owners in his group are outraged, and they want to know:

1. Why is the illegal alien who purchased the gun, Leonel Huerta Sr., still living in Austin?
2. Why does he still have a Texas Driver’s license?
3. Why is ATF using illegal aliens to set up and convict American citizens?
4. What has he been promised for his cooperation?
5. Why has he not been prosecuted? He committed three distinct crimes: he purchased a firearm knowing he was an illegal alien, he possessed the firearm, and he transferred the handgun to another illegal alien (Hippolito Aviles, who was convicted and given time served on June 30, 2010).
6. Why has Huerta Sr. not been deported?

**longcolt** · 09-03-2010, 11:21 AM

Unbelievable!

Our government in action feeding off the people that pay their wages.

The want us to profile buyers, the very thing they sue us for doing. Amazing.

I hope this gets appealed and not in Austin where it is hard for a gun owner to get a fair jury trial.

**jordanvraptor** · 09-03-2010, 11:31 AM

Guess I better bring my passport next time I buy a gun cause I look a little off white...

**Decker** · 09-03-2010, 11:55 AM

Wtf!?

**Decidion** · 09-03-2010, 12:37 PM

This kind of action is just mind boggling.

They prosecute law abiding citizens for NOT profiling, yet they prosecute the Arizona government FOR even the potential to profile.

We cannot simply let these bubblegums have it both ways with us always getting screwed!

**swoop** · 09-03-2010, 12:52 PM

No backround checks in Texas? Don't really like them, but in this case sure would have protected the seller.

**cetme** · 09-03-2010, 12:56 PM

looks at face value he was railroaded.not knowing all what was involved, possibly this person may have been doing something to rub the feds the wrong way.more info would be useful.if he were truly innocent this would be awful to experience.hearing about this makes me want to reconsider selling a firearm ftf without a background check,unless i knew them personally.am i getting paranoid?

**nilknarf** · 09-03-2010, 01:02 PM

Once again, nothing this administration does is for the good of it's constituency. It's for the "good" of itself. It doesn't care at all about justice, it cares about power and domination.

What was portrayed in the John Ross novel "Unintended Consequences" as fiction seems to be chilling reality. Apparently these bubblegums feel immune to the concept of "what goes around, comes around"

**BigCat** · 09-03-2010, 01:44 PM

Hopefully a lawsuit opens up from this.

**huntpotter** · 09-03-2010, 01:53 PM

So I guess no more selling guns to people that speak spanish, or wear cowboy clothing.
The goverment wants us to racially profile each other?

**nilknarf** · 09-03-2010, 01:55 PM

That's what this will mean to me. Look how the gov't is teaching us to be tolerant, eh?

**nilknarf** · 09-03-2010, 01:55 PM

it seems that the feds have become masters of such baiting, eh? ;-)

**RRooster** · 09-03-2010, 01:59 PM

Originally Posted by nilknarf

it seems that the feds have become masters of such baiting, eh? ;-)

Not too surprising from a government that incarcerates the largest percentage of its country's population.

**sir-kind78** · 09-03-2010, 02:15 PM

a VET?....

this is like the Vet that was shot infront of costco

our Gov is now actively persecuting our citizens and locking them in jail without arresting the actual criminal

Where is the Government when a convicted felon in this country illegally is breaking laws with mandatory min sentencing, without any repercussions.

these people get away with felonies and more with nothing to fear

how many of these immigrants have serious records in mexico? how many have warrants for crimes they have committed in mexico as well as the US?

how long will we have to worry about sex offenders that arnt even asked to register that migrate through our states without fear of arrest. Rapists that are never even tracked down. Murders that can commit crimes without fear of arrest. Or child molesters that abuse their children and women as a part of their culture.

I am not going to say that every migrant worker is a criminal,BUT the FAR MAJORITY are criminals.

how do I know this? Years working with a security team at a mexican bar, talking with mexicans that are working in our parts of the world. This is what they have told me.

most of the time they dont even get pulled over after leaving the bar drunk, even after security has called reporting a drunk driver being negligent with their driving.

Our gov is now targeting citizens, there is no excuse for what was done to this VET! he served our country, as did the nevada vet.

again another vet was attacked at the airport before he shipped out for another tour (a medic by the way!) by police for nothing! even was attacked with a deadly weapon while brother officers watched and condoned assault on a veteran

our government is now committing crimes against humanity on a daily basis against our own citizens

**spengo** · 09-03-2010, 02:21 PM

COITUS! What the scrotum are these people thinking?! In-state driver's license is commonly considered good-to-go for FTF sales everywhere. This practically makes it illegal to sell guns to anyone of hispanic descent.