Guns from Nevada focus of federal investigation

Three people have been sentenced for their roles in trafficking guns from Nevada to Oakland, California, authorities said.

Richard Straight, Jenna Jeanne Allec and Kenneth Lee Kemp each were recently sentenced for their respective roles in an interstate firearms trafficking scheme, federal officials said.

On April 20, 2017, a federal grand jury indicted Straight, 27, of Oakland; Allec, 26, of Oakland; Kemp, 32, of Elko, Nevada and others.

Straight, Allec, and Kemp each entered into plea agreements in which they acknowledged committing crimes related to the interstate gun trafficking scheme, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said in a statement.

Details released by the ATF, citing plea agreements:

■ Straight admitted that between March 2015 and May 2017, he engaged in the business of dealing firearms without a license.

■ Straight admitted he acted as the middleman for firearms purchases in Nevada and that his conduct was intended to assist buyers who traveled from outside the state for the purpose of firearms trafficking.

■ Straight also admitted he was responsible for the sale of about 39 firearms. “Straight admitted buyers paid him for the price of the firearm plus, on average, an extra $50 to $100,” the ATF said in a statement.

Straight pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license and one count of aiding and abetting traveling interstate to promote illegal firearms trafficking. Straight was sentenced to 42 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

■ Allec admitted that she, too, engaged in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, the ATF said.

“According to her plea agreement, she purchased firearms in Nevada from licensed firearm dealers and then sold the firearms to others,” the ATF said in its statement. “Allec admitted that she sold about 18 firearms during the period of October 2015 to June of 2016 earning approximately $50 to $100 per firearm.”

Allec, who pleaded guilty to one count of dealing in firearms without a license, was sentenced to 48 months of probation with a special condition of 24 months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service.

■ Kemp admitted he engaged in a conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license. Specifically, he agreed to engage in an illegal operation to traffic firearms from the Reno area to Oakland.

“He admitted he purchased firearms in Nevada and sold firearms to others who lived in California or who could provide the firearms to others in California,” the ATF said.

Kemp admitted he trafficked approximately 21 firearms. Kemp pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to deal in firearms without a license and was sentenced to 14 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

The sentences were handed down by Judge Haywood S. Gilliam of U.S. District Court.