by Angel Shamaya

May 7, 2002

KeepAndBearArms.com -- The length of Mesa, Arizona gun dealer Bob Stewart's prison sentence will not be known until at least May 30, 2002. In federal district court in Phoenix today, Judge Roslyn O. Silver granted the defendant's request for the time to file a Motion to Depart Downward in sentencing (seeking a reduction in the number of years he must spend in prison). Stewart has a week to file the motion, and the federal government has a week to respond. Judge Silver said sentencing will take place on the 30th.

Mr. Stewart was originally raided for selling Maadi-Griffin rifle kits without serial numbers, back in June of 2000. Those charges became a non-issue and were dropped when the BATF found firearms in his possession that included unregistered machine-guns. Stewart had a prior felony conviction, also for having had the audacity to exercise his right keep and bear arms. A jury of his non-peers found him guilty in January of this year. The judge ordered him held until sentencing. He showed up in court today in leg irons.

Judge Silver also proclaimed today that there is 9th Circuit Court precedence that says, "possession of any unregistered firearm constitutes a crime of violence" -- presumably to make it clear that Bob Stewart's sentence to federal prison will reflect that he's a "violent criminal" even though the government never produced an injured party in any of the court proceedings. The judge named the case from which that quote arose, but I missed it. Presumably, it refers only to prior convicted felons who are caught with firearms.

What looks to be the final hearing on the Bob Stewart case will be held on May 30 at 9am. (The judge's assistant said 9:30, but the judge said 9am. She seems to be a time-challenged individual -- today's hearing was scheduled for 1:30, but she didn't enter the court until 2:11.)

Arizona gun rights activists who plan to attend the sentencing hearing are advised to bring a government-issued ID card. The court has now deemed this a requirement to enter the building -- effective three weeks ago, or two months ago, depending upon which guard you ask. The place to be:

Thursday, May 30, 2002 at 9am
Judge Roslyn O. Silver
Phone:  (602) 322-7520
Fax:  (602) 322-7529
401 W Washington St., Suite 624
SPC-59
Phoenix, Arizona  85003

It is interesting to note that the government is seeking a 98-month sentence for Mr. Stewart, a resident of Arizona, when you ponder the Arizona's State Constitution's Article 2, Section 26, which reads:

"The right of the individual citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the State shall not be impaired, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing individuals or corporations to organize, maintain, or employ an armed body of men."

And there's always that seemingly non-existent Second Amendment:

A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."

Somebody'd better tell the government these things.

Mr. Stewart asked me today to put the following statement in this report to you:

"This court proceeding is pure evidence that we have no Second Amendment and that the court and the justice system is corrupt."

Anyone who has watched this entire process unfold in federal district court -- any American, anyway -- surely agrees.

Writing to Bob Stewart

If you would like to send Bob Stewart or his family any support, or even a kind word, following are two addresses where you can do that. Note that you cannot send any form of money to Bob's prison cell other than a money order, that you cannot send stamps, or a calling card, or anything else, really.

C.A.D.C.
Florence, Arizona  85232
c/o Bob Stewart, #45338008, QQ109

Naomi Stewart
2812 N. 34th Place
Mesa, Arizona  85213

Mrs. Stewart said that Bob will likely be moved to a new location after sentencing, so if you wait very long he might not get any mail you send -- so send it to her to be safe. She also confirmed that every time Bob calls out from a prison phone, whoever takes his call must pay $3 per call plus $1 per minute; her phone bill is averaging $300 a month now. She said she visits him on average of once a week. She's taken their three young boys down to the prison to see their father a couple of times, but when they realize they can only talk to him on a telephone through plate glass windows, the whole thing becomes rather unenjoyable.