Handgun Dealers Feel Sting of Pomona Police

Three times in a row, the Great Western Fair Show turned out more like a great Western roundup. But instead of cattle, Pomona police officers again rustled up some allegedly errant gun dealers.

Despite warnings over a loudspeaker that undercover officers would be enforcing state gun sale laws, 18 people were arrested from May 2 to May 4 on charges of illegally selling handguns during the semiannual Western-theme fair at the Los Angeles County Fairplex.

It was the second time in two years that local police officers had used a sting operation at the show to net gun dealers who failed to wait 15 days before delivering sold handguns, said Lt. Ernie Allsup of the Pomona Police Department.

State law requires gun dealers to notify police and legal officials of all handgun sales before transferring possession of the weapons. Allsup said that convicted felons and mentally ill people, for example, could be prohibited from purchasing handguns during the 15-day waiting period.

“If you’re not checking and don’t know the person who you’re selling the gun to, an absolute maniac could walk out with a concealable handgun on his person,” Allsup said.

Even as the show’s promoters announced over the public address system that undercover officers were present, gun dealers at the exhibit’s 4,600 rented tables repeatedly sold weapons to plainclothes policemen, often back-dating receipts to reflect an earlier date of sale, officers said.

Other dealers concealed their handguns in brown paper bags or offered to make the sale in a parking lot, Allsup said.

When undercover officers took possession of the guns, a second team of officers moved in and made the arrests. Of the 18 dealers charged, those from out of state were required to post bail to guarantee their appearance in court. One of those dealers already has pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor charge and paid $170 in fines and penalties; the gun he sold was ordered destroyed. Most of the others have been scheduled to answer the charges later this month in Pomona Municipal Court.

“I’d say every other person would sell to you,” Allsup said.

“There were plenty more people to arrest. We just didn’t have the manpower to do everybody.”

With more manpower at a show last year, Allsup said, officers arrested 32 gun dealers on charges of illegally selling firearms. Of those, one dealer, who had been arrested and released, was arrested a second time later the same day. Most of the accused dealers pleaded guilty and the court ordered their guns destroyed.

The show’s promoters, who publicized the mandatory 15-day waiting period throughout the weekend exhibit, said that there was little they could do to discourage gun dealers from making illegal transactions.

“If people do not heed the warnings, as far as I’m concerned they get what they deserve,” said Mary Barnyak, who along with her husband, Frank, has promoted the Western shows for 17 years. “There’s no reason why anybody should have been taken in by the Pomona police on this.”

She said that the future of the exhibits, which feature displays of “Western Americana” such as guns, coins, Indian artifacts and antiques, would not be jeopardized by the arrests.

“Eighteen people out of 4,000 tables--that’s pretty small,” Barnyak said. “Besides, it’s not just gun laws; it’s all laws. How many people are not reporting their taxes?”