Two Sentenced For Federal Firearms Laws Violations

West Palm Beach, FL - On August 15, 2001 in U.S. District Court in Miami, Florida, Ted McLeod was sentenced to 30 months in Federal prison and fined $60,000 and Patrick Hayes was sentenced to 14 months in prison for their parts in a firearm-related conspiracy. McLeod and Hayes were the owner and manager of Trail Guns, a Federally licensed firearms dealer and pawnbroker located at 3170 South Military Trail in Lake Worth, Florida, touted as being Palm Beach Counties oldest and largest pawnbroker.

The sentences mark the end of a successful 7-month investigation into violations of various Federal firearm laws being committed by the owner and manager at Trail Guns. On January 26, 2000, Special Agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) served Federal search and arrest warrants at Trail Guns to collect evidence and arrest McLeod and Hayes. On March 26, 2001 they pled guilty to a firearm-related conspiracy charge.

ATF first became suspicious of Trail Guns after looking at crime gun trace information collected by the ATF National Tracing Center. When local law enforcement officers recover crime guns they frequently request the ATF National Tracing Center to trace the history of the gun to help their investigation. ATF then analyzes the collective information of all crime guns traced by law enforcement in areas such as Palm Beach County using LEAD. This ATF system can help identify firearm traffickers or licensed gun dealers who are a frequent source of crime guns. With more than 250 Federally licensed firearms dealers in Palm Beach County, this system helps focus limited investigative resources where they can have the most impact. Using LEAD information, ATF agents in West Palm Beach noticed that Trail Guns was one of the top sources of crime guns recovered by law enforcement in Palm Beach County each year for the last few years. The ensuing investigation focused on why this was the case.

ATF agents soon discovered that the owner and manager at Trail Guns would coach persons who were denied the ability to purchase a gun during the criminal record check on how to bring in a friend to get by the check and get the gun. In other words, when the criminal record check, required by the Brady Law, was successful in preventing a convicted felon from buying a gun, Trail Guns would circumvent the law so they could make a sale and the felon could get the gun. During the investigation, undercover agents were able to purchase a number of firearms illegally, including a silencer.

ATF and the U.S. Attorneys Office consider this a very serious crime since Trail Guns was actively circumventing Brady Law successes and knowingly arming felons with significant firepower. This type of case is one of ATF's top priorities since identifying and halting illegal sources of crime guns helps reduce armed crime and makes communities safer.