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http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/377311_guns02.html]
Stolen weapons often come cheap
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
P-I REPORTER
When 16-year-old Luis Cosgaya-Alvarez wanted to get a gun, police say, he didn't have to look far.
Cosgaya-Alvarez bought a .40-caliber handgun on the street in downtown Kent from an illegal dealer, court documents say.
Less than two weeks later, Cosgaya-Alvarez, a self-proclaimed gang member, fired a single shot from that gun to kill a man he argued with outside a Federal Way school, according to documents used to charge him with murder.
The shooting underscored a persistent problem of juveniles using guns in crime: The weapons are simple to get and cheap. They are for sale not just on street corners in Kent but throughout the region.
"People can get stolen guns for 50, 100 bucks," said Gabe Morales, a local gang expert who works with police and at-risk youths. "It's easier to get a gun than it is to get a car."
You can't buy rifles or shotguns in Washington until age 18. People can possess a pistol in limited circumstances at 18 but can't purchase one or carry a concealed pistol until age 21.
Morales said teens unable to get a handgun legally often ask around on the streets until they're connected with street dealers who specialize in selling firearms. Sometimes they peddle a range of guns from the trunks of their cars.
The illegal guns frequently end up in police reports.
A 16-year-old with suspected gang ties used an illegal gun when he shot another teen in the face near 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street earlier this year, authorities say.
An 18-year-old who prosecutors say fatally shot a teenager in a Kent gang-related confrontation -- and was shot himself hours later in suspected retaliation -- possessed his firearm illegally.
As part of the investigation of Cosgaya-Alvarez and the Federal Way homicide, police are having a ballistics test done on the gun they say Cosgaya-Alvarez used and have asked the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace the gun's history, a Federal Way spokeswoman said.
In 2006, the ATF opened a regional crime gun center in Seattle. The center is a destination for many weapons that city and state police seize.
All traces go through the ATF, said Candice Nilsson, the center's senior ATF investigator. However, she said agencies are not required to submit all recovered guns, despite the benefits.
Last year, Washington law enforcement agencies traced 3,553 guns, according to the ATF. More than 40 percent of those -- 1,561 -- were pistols.
Federal law prevents the ATF from publicly sharing specific data about crime guns, including how many of those traced were used by juveniles, where they were bought, or in what specific geographical areas they were used, said Doug Krogh, group supervisor of the Seattle division ATF intelligence group.
Agents also point out that not all traced guns were actually used in crimes, such as rifles lost while hunting.
At the Regional Crime Gun Center, agents determine how suspected criminals got their hands on illegal guns. The Seattle Police Department also has a crime gun analyst, who did not return interview requests for this story, who works with the ATF gun center and looks for patterns in the histories of the firearms used.
In some cases, that can be difficult.
Last month, a Seattle police officer saw known gang members hanging out near Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street. He saw one convicted felon in his early teens with a pistol, and when he confiscated it, saw that the serial number had been etched off.
"Based on my training and experience, I know that firearms that have their serial numbers purposefully removed were either used in a crime or a reported stolen gun," the officer wrote in his Aug. 2 report.
Tracing can be done in 24 hours for high profile cases, ATF agents say. Although tracing in some cases can take months, "every gun will tell you a story," said Nick Starcevic, a spokesman with the ATF's Seattle Field Division.
In fiscal 2007, the ATF's Seattle office, which covers other parts of King County and parts of Snohomish, recommended felony charges in 47 illegal gun cases. That's a typical number because the ATF is selective, combing through cases and taking time to compile evidence on "the worst of the worst," Starcevic said.
Other agencies also use information from ATF traces to recommend charges.
Federal law prevents the ATF from publicly sharing specific data about crime guns used. But Starcevic said agents see teens with illegal guns, and they know there are dealers who peddle them for quick cash.
The pistol Jordan Jantoc used when he accidentally killed his brother in 2006 came from a classmate at Evergreen High School. He traded a Glock semiautomatic taken from his stepfather's study and the promise of $100 for the gun used in the shooting.
Last year, the brother of a Henry Foss High School junior who was accused of gunning down a classmate told police his sibling had sold illegal handguns and brought them to school.
Kent police Officer Paul Peterson said about half the people who have guns stolen from their homes or cars don't write down the serial numbers.
Police in other King County jurisdictions estimate that the number is even higher -- and say that's often how street criminals get their firearms.
"A gun may be stolen in Oregon, passed off for dope somewhere else, then given to somebody as a payment for a debt here," Peterson said.
"That's why we encourage any gun owners to take the responsibility to secure it and to write down the full make, model and serial number."
Responsible gun owners would never defend street thugs or illegal gun use, said Dave Workman, senior editor of Gun Week and author of "Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities." And he said additional laws won't stop the criminals who already have no regard for them.
"I think if you really want to address the problem of disarming street thugs, you've got to enforce the existing statutes, which unfortunately often wind up getting plea-bargained away," he said. "If you stick them with an enhanced sentence for using an illegal gun in a crime, they're going to go away for a
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/377311_guns02.html]
Stolen weapons often come cheap
By CASEY MCNERTHNEY
P-I REPORTER
When 16-year-old Luis Cosgaya-Alvarez wanted to get a gun, police say, he didn't have to look far.
Cosgaya-Alvarez bought a .40-caliber handgun on the street in downtown Kent from an illegal dealer, court documents say.
Less than two weeks later, Cosgaya-Alvarez, a self-proclaimed gang member, fired a single shot from that gun to kill a man he argued with outside a Federal Way school, according to documents used to charge him with murder.
The shooting underscored a persistent problem of juveniles using guns in crime: The weapons are simple to get and cheap. They are for sale not just on street corners in Kent but throughout the region.
"People can get stolen guns for 50, 100 bucks," said Gabe Morales, a local gang expert who works with police and at-risk youths. "It's easier to get a gun than it is to get a car."
You can't buy rifles or shotguns in Washington until age 18. People can possess a pistol in limited circumstances at 18 but can't purchase one or carry a concealed pistol until age 21.
Morales said teens unable to get a handgun legally often ask around on the streets until they're connected with street dealers who specialize in selling firearms. Sometimes they peddle a range of guns from the trunks of their cars.
The illegal guns frequently end up in police reports.
A 16-year-old with suspected gang ties used an illegal gun when he shot another teen in the face near 23rd Avenue South and South Jackson Street earlier this year, authorities say.
An 18-year-old who prosecutors say fatally shot a teenager in a Kent gang-related confrontation -- and was shot himself hours later in suspected retaliation -- possessed his firearm illegally.
As part of the investigation of Cosgaya-Alvarez and the Federal Way homicide, police are having a ballistics test done on the gun they say Cosgaya-Alvarez used and have asked the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to trace the gun's history, a Federal Way spokeswoman said.
In 2006, the ATF opened a regional crime gun center in Seattle. The center is a destination for many weapons that city and state police seize.
All traces go through the ATF, said Candice Nilsson, the center's senior ATF investigator. However, she said agencies are not required to submit all recovered guns, despite the benefits.
Last year, Washington law enforcement agencies traced 3,553 guns, according to the ATF. More than 40 percent of those -- 1,561 -- were pistols.
Federal law prevents the ATF from publicly sharing specific data about crime guns, including how many of those traced were used by juveniles, where they were bought, or in what specific geographical areas they were used, said Doug Krogh, group supervisor of the Seattle division ATF intelligence group.
Agents also point out that not all traced guns were actually used in crimes, such as rifles lost while hunting.
At the Regional Crime Gun Center, agents determine how suspected criminals got their hands on illegal guns. The Seattle Police Department also has a crime gun analyst, who did not return interview requests for this story, who works with the ATF gun center and looks for patterns in the histories of the firearms used.
In some cases, that can be difficult.
Last month, a Seattle police officer saw known gang members hanging out near Rainier Avenue South and South Henderson Street. He saw one convicted felon in his early teens with a pistol, and when he confiscated it, saw that the serial number had been etched off.
"Based on my training and experience, I know that firearms that have their serial numbers purposefully removed were either used in a crime or a reported stolen gun," the officer wrote in his Aug. 2 report.
Tracing can be done in 24 hours for high profile cases, ATF agents say. Although tracing in some cases can take months, "every gun will tell you a story," said Nick Starcevic, a spokesman with the ATF's Seattle Field Division.
In fiscal 2007, the ATF's Seattle office, which covers other parts of King County and parts of Snohomish, recommended felony charges in 47 illegal gun cases. That's a typical number because the ATF is selective, combing through cases and taking time to compile evidence on "the worst of the worst," Starcevic said.
Other agencies also use information from ATF traces to recommend charges.
Federal law prevents the ATF from publicly sharing specific data about crime guns used. But Starcevic said agents see teens with illegal guns, and they know there are dealers who peddle them for quick cash.
The pistol Jordan Jantoc used when he accidentally killed his brother in 2006 came from a classmate at Evergreen High School. He traded a Glock semiautomatic taken from his stepfather's study and the promise of $100 for the gun used in the shooting.
Last year, the brother of a Henry Foss High School junior who was accused of gunning down a classmate told police his sibling had sold illegal handguns and brought them to school.
Kent police Officer Paul Peterson said about half the people who have guns stolen from their homes or cars don't write down the serial numbers.
Police in other King County jurisdictions estimate that the number is even higher -- and say that's often how street criminals get their firearms.
"A gun may be stolen in Oregon, passed off for dope somewhere else, then given to somebody as a payment for a debt here," Peterson said.
"That's why we encourage any gun owners to take the responsibility to secure it and to write down the full make, model and serial number."
Responsible gun owners would never defend street thugs or illegal gun use, said Dave Workman, senior editor of Gun Week and author of "Washington State Gun Rights and Responsibilities." And he said additional laws won't stop the criminals who already have no regard for them.
"I think if you really want to address the problem of disarming street thugs, you've got to enforce the existing statutes, which unfortunately often wind up getting plea-bargained away," he said. "If you stick them with an enhanced sentence for using an illegal gun in a crime, they're going to go away for a
