Countywide : Gun Dealer Sentenced to Prison

A firearms dealer was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday for supplying hundreds of inexpensive weapons to an underground gun syndicate.

U. S. District Court Judge Linda McLaughlin handed down the sentence to James Larry Simmons, 55, who made an appearance in her Santa Ana courtroom.

Simmons, a Temecula truck driver who was also licensed as a firearms dealer, had earlier pleaded guilty to 21 weapons violations.

Federal authorities had charged that Simmons gave false information on his license application, and used the falsely obtained license to acquire large numbers of weapons at wholesale prices.

About 1,700 weapons have been traced to Simmons, including a handgun found on an 18-year-old reputed Santa Ana gang member who was shot and killed in a school-yard confrontation with Santa Ana police.

Simmons faced up to 10 years in prison, but Assistant U. S. Atty. Wayne Gross, who prosecuted the case, said the government recommended an 18-month sentence because Simmons testified against another defendant in the case.

The other defendant, Sambeth So of Long Beach, was convicted in September of 34 counts of selling firearms without a license. So was accused of reselling guns he bought from Simmons, the government alleged.

So’s sentencing is scheduled for later this month.

Simmons’ attorney, Dwight Moore of Santa Ana, said he believed McLaughlin’s punishment was a “fair sentence.”