Frederick County Sheriff Jenkins Charles “Chuck” Jenkins leaves the U.S. District Court in Baltimore on April 12, 2023. Photo by Danielle E. Gaines.
Federal prosecutors moved to drop criminal charges Tuesday against Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R), who had been accused of using a loophole in federal law to help a local gunshop illegally obtain machine guns.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Goo filed a motion to dismiss the case on Tuesday morning.
Jenkins and Robert Krop, owner of the Machine Gun Nest gun shop and firing range in Frederick, were charged by a federal grand jury in April 2023. Both pleaded not guilty and sought to go to trial to dispute the charges.
In late October, a federal district court jury acquitted Krop on all counts after just five hours of deliberation, following several days of trial.
Jenkins’ trial in the case had been scheduled for January, but Goo notified U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher that prosecutors would be dropping charges against the sheriff.
Federal prosecutors had alleged that Krop and Jenkins worked to get around federal law, which generally prohibits possession, transport or import of machine guns, except by government agencies.
An exception to the law allows licensed dealers, in some cases, to buy machine guns as a sample for demonstration to potential law enforcement or military purchasers, if the agency requesting a demonstration sends a “law letter” to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
According to the indictment, Krop and Jenkins created five “law letters” on Frederick County Sheriff’s Office letterhead requesting machine guns for evaluation and demonstration to the department. But there was no demonstration for the agency, the indictment said, and the guns were intended for rental to Krop’s customers.
At Krop’s trial, the defense presented emails from gun shop workers to the sheriff’s office, inviting Jenkins to come by and see weapons, as well as correspondence with ATF representatives about the protocol for an off-site demonstration, the Frederick News-Post reported.
This breaking news story will be updated.