Jury acquits man accused of lying to buy guns

BANGOR – A federal jury on Friday found a former Alton man not guilty of violating federal gun laws.

Derek Leland, 25, of Dover, N.H., was charged with three counts of lying on applications to purchase five 9mm pistols from Frati’s Pawn Shop in Bangor in November 2003.

The all-male jury deliberated for an hour before delivering its verdict following a day-and-a-half long trial in U.S. District Court.

Leland grinned as his attorney, Stephen Brett of York Beach, playfully punched him on the arm each time the court clerk read, “not guilty.”

Leland’s girlfriend, Rebecka Miller, 25, of Dover, N.H., who testified on Thursday on his behalf, wept as the verdict was read.

“We’re very happy that it went this way,” Leland’s mother, Linda Leland, 51, of Alton, said after the trial.

Assistant U.S. Attorney James McCarthy, who prosecuted the case, declined to comment on the verdict.

Brett said the jury saw Leland’s honesty when he took the stand on his own behalf.

“Derek told his story honestly and openly,” the attorney said after the trial. “He didn’t wane, he didn’t waver and what he did is not against the law.”

What Leland did, according to McCarthy, was purchase five “Saturday night specials” between Nov. 22 and 29, 2003.

When he purchased them, Leland told pawn shop owner Orlando Frati that he wanted them for Christmas presents, the prosecutor said Friday in his closing argument.

It is illegal for a person to buy a gun on behalf of another individual. Federal law allows a person to purchase weapons for possible resale or as a gift.

Leland did not give them as gifts, according to court documents, but sold three of the guns to his roommate, Ian J. Nasino, 20, and one to a friend, Jeffrey H. Pulver, 27, in Berwick within 24 hours of purchasing them.

Neither man could be located to testify at the trial, but both were listed as possible defense witnesses.

Brady Crocker, 24, of Old Town, purchased the fifth gun from Leland the same day he bought it in the parking lot of Russell’s Entertainment Complex in Bangor. Crocker testified on Thursday that he did not ask Leland to buy the gun for him.

McCarthy told the jury Friday that it didn’t make sense for the buyers to pay $300 for guns that Leland had paid $183 for unless they were unable to buy them themselves.

At the time of the sale, Nasino was too young to legally own a firearm and Pulver was prohibited from owning a firearm because he was a convicted felon.

Leland, who has been suspended from his job at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard while the case was being resolved, said after the trial that his next step would be to get back to work. His return, however, could be delayed by pending drug charges in York County.

Last week, Leland pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking in and possessing cocaine in Berwick during the summer of 2004.

He faces up to 10 years in prison on each felony charge of trafficking and up to one year in jail on the possession charge.

A sentencing date has not been set.

In an unrelated case, Leland’s father, William Leland, 48, of Alton is facing federal drug and gun charges.