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Sunday, Aug. 02, 2009

Many guns start legal, but find their way onto Modesto streets

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Thirteen shootings left eight people dead, including a 10-year-old boy, and injured 15 others in July. It was the most violent month of what has been a violent year in Modesto.

Just the sound of gunshots can shock a neighborhood at its core. And, unlike a knife or blunt object, you don't have to get close to kill with a gun. Bullets can be sprayed indiscriminately, hitting bystanders caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Modesto's streets are flooded with hundreds of illegal firearms -- weapons exchanged for cash or drugs in an underground black market operated by dope peddlers and thugs who use guns to protect their illicit profits and intimidate rival gangs.

Where do those guns come from?

Authorities say the most common pipeline starts in the homes of law-abiding citizens who follow the rules and adhere to waiting periods to purchase firearms. Thieves burglarize homes, steal legal guns, and sell them to drug dealers and gang members.

Detectives said about five to 10 guns are reported stolen each week in Modesto. On the other end, police seize about 10 guns a week that were used in a crime or confiscated during a search.

"Not many days go by that we don't take a gun off the street," said Sgt. Brian Findlen, a Modesto police spokesman.

Federal officials say Modesto isn't the only Northern California city awash with stolen guns. The same violent trend is evident in cities such as Stockton, San Francisco and San Jose, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

According to the state Department of Justice Bureau of Firearms, 370,628 guns were bought legally in California in 2007, and 425,244 were bought in 2008.

Law enforcement officials say they do not want to discourage legal gun purchases or attempt to prevent residents who follow the law from owning a gun for protection. Officials, however, urge people to lock up their firearms properly when they're not at home.

"We're asking residents to stem the tide by securing their firearms," Findlen said. "That is a primary way criminals get firearms."

Shift from legal to illegal use

A gun's journey to street warfare often starts in the home of a resident who bought a gun legally for hunting or protection.

While ransacking a home, a thief will stumble upon a gun stored away but not locked in a cabinet or gun safe. The thief will take it to sell on the street along with the rest of the items stolen from the home.

Like stereos, TVs and jewelry, a stolen gun easily can be traded or sold. Authorities say many thieves in the Northern San Joaquin Valley steal to feed their meth- amphetamine addiction, and stealing guns is just another way to get that fix.

"They might go to a drug dealer and trade it for some dope," said Stanislaus County Undersheriff William Heyne. "Then the drug dealer will turn around and sell it to someone else."

The drug dealer might keep the gun for protection against competitors fighting over a street corner or small neighborhood. But more often, the dealer will sell it.

There's no need for a criminal background check, a 30-day waiting period or even a valid ID to get a gun on the street. All you need is cash.

Heyne said a typical handgun sells for about $100 on the black market and can change hands several times before used in a crime.

"It's on the street; it's word of mouth," he said. "You make the request out on the street that you need a gun and the word gets around."

Heyne said to blame the person who committed the crime with the gun, not the gun itself. He said the vast majority of licensed gun owners follow the law, and the people who use guns to commit a crime "are people with no regard for human life."