United States v. Gary Stella, United States of America v. Charles Hatfield

Co-defendants Stella and Hatfield appeal from judgments of conviction under the National Firearms Act. Stella received concurrent sentences on two counts of being an unregistered dealer in firearms, 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (a), three counts of possessing unregistered firearms, § 5861(d), and one count of carrying a firearm during the commission of a felony, 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c) (2). Hatfield was convicted on one count of possessing an unregistered firearm. We affirm.

Antonio Amezquinta, a government informer, received a telephone call from defendant Stella who “stated that he understood [Amezquinta] was interested in the purchase of some automatic weapons.” A meeting between Amezquinta and Stella was held the next night and, after Stella agreed to sell various-caliber machine guns and ammunition, Stella led Amezquinta to Hatfield’s house. Hatfield and Stella took the firearms from Hatfield’s back yard, where they were stored, and loaded them into Amezquin-ta’s car. This transaction forms the basis for one dealing and one possession count against Stella, and the one posses sion count against Hatfield. We deem it unnecessary to discuss the later events which are the basis for the remaining…