| This story has been corrected. See below. |
A Canadian citizen who sold a semiautomatic rifle to undercover police while living illegally in the United States was sentenced in federal court Friday to two years in jail.
The federal prosecutor promised to recommend the 12-month jail term in a plea deal with Douglas James Leopold.
Leopold, 51, pleaded guilty in January to two counts of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.
In addition to the jail sentence, U.S. District Senior Judge Helen Gillmor fined Leopold $5,000 and ordered him to submit to three years of court supervision after he gets out of jail.
Leopold has already completed most of his jail term because he has been in custody at the Federal Detention Center since his arrest in July.
His lawyer William Domingo told Gillmor that Leopold will ask the U.S. State Department to deport him after he gets out of jail so he can return to Canada.
Leopold told Gillmor he takes responsibility for his actions.
"Your honor, I’m an idiot. I wasn’t aware of the laws. I should have been more aware," Leopold said.
He said he didn’t sell firearms to buyers unless they showed him their identification and a permit to own a firearm. He said he and his wife watched gun prices rise and "were riding the gun wave" when he sold an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to someone at his Kailua-Kona home in March last year and another one to the undercover Hawaii County officer in April.
Domingo said Leopold turned to selling guns after a bad turn in the real estate business. Leopold was president and owner of Sun and Sea Realty in Kailua-Kona.
Prosecutor Tracy Hino said Leopold knew what he was doing was wrong because he listed his wife as the owner and seller of the firearms when in fact he was the gun dealer.
Leopold became an illegal alien when he remained in the country after his six-month nonimmigrant visa expired in November 2005. Since then he has been convicted in state court for driving under the influence and harassment and has had his real estate license suspended. And since 2011 a former employee and the state Regulated Industries Complaints Office have reported to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that Leopold may be residing here illegally.
Ultimately, what drew the attention of federal authorities was a flier Leopold dropped off in March 2013 at a Kailua-Kona tactical equipment and clothing shop advertising the sale of assault rifles. The shop owner is the wife of a Hawaii County police officer.
CORRECTION
A federal judge sentenced Douglas James Leopold on Friday to two years in prison for possessing a firearm while in the country illegally. A previous story Saturday said the judge sentenced him to one year.
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