A federal judge in California dismissed a case resulting from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ investigation this month stating that the government “created the fictitious crime from whole cloth.”
U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real dismissed
the ATF’s case against three men whom he contends were enticed to commit a fictitious crime by the agency. (Photo credit: CSPAN)
U.S. District Court Judge Manuel Real heard the case involving Randy Garmon, Arturo Cortez, and Rene Flores, which included an alleged plot to rob a drug supplier’s ‘stash house,’ as USA Todayreported.
However, the house in question was the site of an ATF sting and the alleged robbers’ contact and getaway car liaison was an undercover ATF agent.
All three plead guilty after their arrest in September and were awaiting sentencing from Real, who instead, dismissed the case.
According to court transcripts, the three defendants had been recruited by confidential informants, who were given $8,600 to “convince citizens to join the government’s scheme,” in Judge Reals’ words.
He further pointed out that none of the three men had a history of being involved in matters concerning guns, tax violations, or liquor that would have brought them under the ATF’s scrutiny. This was described by the federal judge in court as,” trolling poor neighborhoods to ensure and ensnare its poor citizens.
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