Defense attorneys say Jenkins didn't understand law letters' legal significance

Aug. 7—Reiterating their desire for two separate trials, attorneys for Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins argued Monday that their client had "very little, if any, understanding of the legal significance" of the letters at the center of a federal case against him and a local firearms dealer.

Jenkins' attorneys' filing on Monday came in response to one last week from the federal government, which asked a judge to try him and co-defendant Robert Krop together.

Both Krop and Jenkins have asked the court for separate trials. The men are accused of conspiring and making false statements to acquire machine guns.

Krop co-owns The Machine Gun Nest shooting range near Frederick.

U.S. District Judge Stephanie A. Gallagher said at a hearing in Baltimore last month that playing both men's interviews with federal agents at a joint trial might violate a rule set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1968 decision in Bruton v. United States.

According to "the Bruton rule," during a joint conspiracy trial, a defendant's rights are violated if their co-defendant implicates them in a statement. The rule is sometimes used to separate the trials of multiple people charged in the same conspiracy.

Gallagher gave each side an opportunity to address the Bruton question before making a decision on whether to separate the trials.

Prosecutors addressed it in a three-page response last week, writing that they did not intend to play Krop's interview at a joint trial and would redact the pieces of Jenkins' interview that include direct mentions of Krop, thus avoiding a violation of the Bruton rule.

Jenkins' attorneys, though, said those measures wouldn't be enough.

They argued that federal rules of evidence mandate that "If a party introduces all or part of a writing or recorded statement, an adverse party may require the introduction, at that time, of any other part — or any other writing or recorded statement — that in fairness ought to be considered at the same time."

"In fairness to Sheriff Jenkins the entire recording must be played," they said in the filing.

The attorneys maintained that playing Jenkins' interview at a joint trial would be unfair to Krop and violate the Bruton rule.

The attorneys said Jenkins' hour-long interview should not be redacted or presented as a partial transcript because "both the words and the non-verbal communication, the pauses, the tone of the conversation, the sentiments, and emotions" in the recording would help prove Jenkins' innocence.

"It is crystal clear [in the recording] that Jenkins had very little, if any, understanding of the legal significance of the letters at the center of this case," the filing on Monday says.

Jenkins was indicted alongside Krop in early April on five counts of conspiracy and making false statements to illegally acquire machine guns.

Krop, who co-owns the shooting range The Machine Gun Nest in Frederick County, also faces an additional charge of illegal possession of machine guns.

Both men have pleaded not guilty.

The indictment alleges that between 2015 and 2022, Krop drafted letters for Jenkins to sign on Frederick County Sheriff's Office letterhead, then sent them to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The letters stated that the sheriff's office was interested in seeing demonstrations of various machine guns.

Federal law generally prohibits the possession, transfer or importation of machine guns imported or manufactured after May 1986.

There is an exception: Licensed dealers like Krop can legally acquire post-1986 machine guns if a law enforcement agency says it has an interest in buying the guns or that it wants to see a demonstration.

To accomplish this, the law enforcement agency writes a "law letter" expressing its desire, which is sent in with an application the dealer files to the ATF. The ATF reviews applications before allowing the import or transfer of the machine guns.

The Machine Gun Nest never performed demonstrations for the Sheriff's Office, prosecutors say. The business rented out the guns to customers.

Prosecutors allege Jenkins told investigators that he signed the letters to aid Krop's business, and never said he'd had any interest in purchasing or seeing demonstrations of the guns.

"To the contrary, he told the agents that at least one of [the weapons], a belt-fed machinegun, which is used in combat, would not be suitable for use in law enforcement and that he regretted signing the law letter that requested a demonstration of it," a previous government filing says.

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