Sheldon Man Convicted of 5 Firearm Charges
A man who dealt firearms without a license and traveled interstate to deal firearms was convicted by a jury March 1, 2012, after a 3–day trial in federal court in Sioux City.
Tony Hulstein, 62, from Sheldon, Iowa, was convicted of one count of dealing firearms without a license and four counts of traveling in interstate commerce to deal firearms. The verdict was returned following about three hours of jury deliberations.
The evidence at trial showed that Hulstein, over a period of about four and a half years, obtained and disposed of over 800 guns and was in possession of nearly 100 more at the time of his arrest. Hulstein also traveled to Michigan three times and Texas once to acquire firearms in furtherance of his unlicensed dealing.
Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Mark W. Bennett will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Hulstein remains free on bond previously set pending sentencing. Hulstein faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, $500 in special assessments, and up to three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.
The case was prosecuted by the United States Attroney’s Office and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Sheldon Police Department, and O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office.
Court file information is available at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 09–4028.
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