Judge dismisses cases against gun dealers

On Feb. 15, Federal District Court Judge Richard Dorr ruled indictments against Cathleen Schlichting, owner of The Gold Exchange and Gunsmoke Gallery, and Randall Sheridan, previous owner of Gunsmoke Gallery, were to be dropped.

Sheridan in 2003 was charged with selling firearms without a valid Federal Firearm License. Schlichting, who later took over Sheridan’s business, was charged for aiding and abetting Sheridan’s alleged illegal sale.

Dorr ruled against those charges, stating Sheridan’s license was valid, based on correspondence between Sheridan and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms during the time period in question.

While the government argued that Sheridan’s license had never been renewed and therefore was invalid, a Nov. 13, 2002 letter from the bureau to Sheridan convinced Dorr otherwise.

The letter advised Sheridan that, “Your FFL has been placed in an inactive status. You are no longer authorized to conduct business using this license.”

“The clear import of this notification is that before Nov. 13, 2002, Randall Sheridan had an active license and was authorized to conduct business using that license,” Dorr stated in his ruling.