PADUCAH, Ky. - A soldier pleaded guilty Monday to federal charges that he smuggled machine guns out of Iraq and tried to sell them in the U.S. Sgt. Beau Uran, 24, based at Fort Campbell, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to unlawfully import the weapons. He is the third person to plead guilty in the case. Sgt. Nigel Brown, 31, and his uncle, Guy Brown, 46, of Hopkinsville, pleaded guilty in July to the same charges. They face up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 fines when they are sentenced Oct. 25. Uran could get a lighter sentence because of his cooperation with authorities, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michele Theilhorn said in court Monday. | Beau being the smart one of this trio. |
While in Iraq, Nigel Brown and Uran allegedly acquired 17 Russian-made AK-47s and an assault rifle. | Sigh, where do they find these reporters? |
Prosecutors say they sawed the bottoms off oxygen tanks, | The thought of which scares the hell out of me... |
placed the guns inside and welded the bottoms back on so the tanks could be shipped back to Fort Campbell. | Not bad, gets "A" for effort |
After returning home, Brown and Uran allegedly retrieved the tanks and asked Guy Brown to help sell them. According to prosecutors, the uncle ended up offering the guns to an undercover ATF agent for $18,000. Both soldiers continue to serve at Fort Campbell, a fort spokeswoman said. | Soon to PCS to sunny Kansas |
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