Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017 | 2:28 p.m.
CARSON CITY — A federal appeals court has denied the petition of a man who made an estimated $100,000 illegally buying guns in Henderson and shipping them to California, where many ended up with criminal gangs.
Edward J. Purry II was sentenced in federal court in 2015 in Las Vegas to eight years and seven months in prison on four counts of illegally obtaining firearms.
Purry, a resident of California, reportedly bought an estimated 90 handguns from a licensed dealer in Henderson. On his application, he said he was a Nevada resident.
He reportedly purchased the weapons on four occasions in 2013 and mailed them to a friend in Oakland, Calif., where they were resold.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Las Vegas said the weapons were sold for twice their value, and 17 were recovered during criminal actions.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday rejected Purry’s claims there was insufficient evidence for a conviction and that illegal evidence as introduced at the trial. It also said a U.S. District Court judge used the proper sentencing guidelines.
