Gary Craig, Sean Lahman, and Will Cleveland

Democrat and Chronicle

A local gun store illegally sold more than 100 "assault rifles" after the state's SAFE Act measures became law, the state Attorney General's Office and the State Police are alleging.

Kordell Jackson, who previously owned Jackson Guns and Ammo in Henrietta, and two of his former employees have been charged with state firearms violations, according to a statement from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and State Police Superintendent George Beach.

THE CHARGES

Jackson, 40, of Henrietta. He was charged with four felony-level counts of criminal sale of a firearm, and two felony counts alleging illegal transport and disposition of weapons. His firearms store went out of business in January 2015.

Ken Youngren, 30, of Alfred, Allegany County. He is charged with a single count of felony-level criminal sale of a firearm and another felony count of illegal transport and disposition of weapons.

Joshua Perkins, 28, of Irondequoit. He is charged with two felony-level counts of criminal sale of a firearm.

Jackson and Perkins were arrested Tuesday and arraigned before Monroe County Court Judge John L. DeMarco. Jackson and Perkins each pleaded not guilty. The charges will be presented to a grand jury. Each is being held on $25,000 cash bail or bond. They are expected to post bond on Friday.

Youngren was expected to turn himself in.

In 2014, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives "observed irregularities in Jackson Guns and Ammo’s records and notified the New York State Police of possible violations of New York law," according to a news release. State Police then contacted those who had purchased the firearms and, "to date, law enforcement has recovered the vast majority of the assault rifles that were sold illegally at the store," the news release said.

Each of the assault weapons violates provisions of the Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, or SAFE Act, which was enacted in 2013. At least 10 firearms violated state laws in effect before the SAFE Act, authorities say.

In a statement, Schneiderman said New York's gun laws, which have an abundance of critics in western New York, are "among the toughest, most sensible gun safety laws in the country." The rash of deadly mass shootings shows that "weapons of war have no place on the streets of America and, in New York, we're doing something about it."

Paul Ciminelli, an attorney for Jackson, said his client is the first gun store owner charged under the SAFE Act. Ciminelli added that the SAFE Act is so vaguely worded that it "makes potentially every law-abiding citizen a criminal."

More than half of Jackson's customer base was "either active or retired law enforcement officers, which underscores the egregious injustice in this matter," he said.

“Our client was a licensed dealer who operated his business in accordance with all state and federal laws,” Ciminelli said. “This action by the state attorney general is not about gun control. This case is about fundamental fairness and knowing what the law permits and prohibits.”

After the arraignment, Ciminelli said he was still reviewing the criminal complaint. He noted that the complaint, outlining the allegations, was more than 100 pages long. The most serious charge , a class B felony, carries a sentence of 5 to 25 years for each count.

On June 15, members of the New York State Police went to Perkins’ home "on an unrelated matter and allegedly observed three illegal high-capacity ammunition feeding devices in plain view,” according to the news release from the Attorney General's Office.

The officers then obtained a search warrant for Perkins’ residence and allegedly discovered dozens more illegal high-capacity ammunition feeding devices, four assault rifles, dozens of cartons of untaxed cigarettes, numerous strips of the narcotic Suboxone packaged for resale and approximately $25,000 in cash."

The investigation into Jackson's former store has been no secret. On websites, firearms owners alerted anyone who purchased guns from the store that the State Police, using the ATF records, might visit and take guns it considered to be illegal. The chatter on the websites ranged from legally accommodating — with instructions about how to respond properly to a visit from the police — to fears that the police action was a harbinger of wholesale weapons confiscation.

Perkins is being represented by attorney Peter Pupatelli. Pupatelli also serves at the Gates Town Justice.

Jennifer Sommers, special assistant attorney general for the New York State Attorney General's Office, declined comment.

GCRAIG@Gannett.com

SLAHMAN@Gannett.com

WCLEVELAND@Gannett.com

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