HE GOT GOD'S HELP

Maryland shooting range owner acquitted on charges of illegally acquiring machine guns

 

by: Richard Moorhead

 

Law Enforcement Today

Oct 27, 2024

 

   

Robert Krop  

FREDERICK, MD - A jury acquitted a Maryland man accused of violating federal firearms law in the transfer of weapons classified as machine guns on Monday.

Robert Krop was acquitted of all five charges he faced in the Monday proceeding, with a jury reaching its decision after two days of deliberations. Prosecutors accused Krop of colluding with Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins to illegally acquire seven different automatic weapons, arguing that the defendant did not purchase the items for his shooting range business, The Machine Gun Nest, according to The Frederick News-Post.

Krop spoke on the steps of the Edward A. Garmatz United States Courthouse after his acquittal, pointing to the conclusion of the trial as God's hand.

“Praise to God. This is all his win.”

Krop also thanked his wife and his legal team for their role in his acquittal in an Instagram post.

Krop's defense attorney, Dan Cox, scrutinized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearm's vague definitions regarding rules for transfers of automatic weapons. Krop was legally obligated to "demonstrate" the transfer of the weapons to his business under federal law to the county sheriff, with prosecutors failing to establish that Krop did not do so.

The charges the shooting range owner faced included conspiracy to interfere with government functions and to violate federal law regulating machine guns, making false statements during the purchase of firearms, making false statements in records maintained by federal firearms licensee, making false statements to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and unlawful possession of a machine gun. If Krop had been convicted, he could've faced as many as 31 years in federal prison, along with fines of $1,250,000. The defendant rejected two different plea deal offers from federal prosecutors who hoped to avoid testing the merits of the criminal charges in federal court.

The federal government carried out a raid at The Machine Gun Nest in 2022, confiscating three different Herstal SCAR 17 rifles, a submachine gun, a Remington automatic rifle, an FN P90 Tactical, and an M249 Squad Automatic Weapon.

Federal law designates any weapon with the capability of firing in an automatic mode as a machine gun, a definition contrasting with the term when applied to military-style machine guns.

The sheriff involved in the transfer of the automatic weapons, Chuck Jenkins, still faces a federal trial for his role in the transfer of the guns in January. Jenkins' attorney, Andrea Smith, questioned the basis of the charges against her client in light of Krop's acquittal.

“Neither case was founded, in my humble opinion, but if anything, the case against Krop was stronger," the defense lawyer said when asked for comment. “If they can’t convict Mr. Krop, good luck convicting Sheriff Jenkins. ... But if they insist on proceeding, we’ll be there to fight it.”