Court documents unsealed in federal gun case
By Alexandra Bogdanovic
Federal court documents have been unsealed in the case of two men who allegedly tried to sell machine guns to an undercover ATF agent in Fauquier County.
Documents filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia (in Alexandria) show that a motion to unseal complaints and arrest warrants in the case of the United States v. Terry Fant and Justin Flohr was granted May 13.
The affidavit in support of criminal complaint, arrest warrant and search warrant outlines the case against the defendants.
In the affidavit a special agent assigned to the ATF office in Falls Church said he was "introduced" to Fant at Fant's place of employment, which is in Warrenton.
There, the agent said Fant directed him to drive into the back of the parking lot and park next to Fant's car. Fant and Flohr walked over to Fant's car.
He asked about a machine gun, the agent said, and Fant opened the trunk to his vehicle revealing the firearm.
During the ensuing conversation, Flohr told the agent that he manufactured the firearm and that it was possible to have 10 more assembled and ready for sale by the end of the month.
The agent said he conducted a "field function test," which demonstrated that the firearm was fully automatic, as the defendants had indicated.
"Flohr also explained that he machined some of the machine gun parts himself because they were no longer imported into the United States," the agent wrote in the affidavit.
During the April 7 meeting, the agent agreed to buy the gun from Flohr for $1,000 — $600 upfront and an additional $400 if the gun functioned as fully automatic.
He also agreed to buy 10 more identical weapons for $2,000 each.
Would the guns be ready by the end of the month, he asked.
Flohr said that he could try but that he was still waiting on some of the parts to arrive, the agent said.
When asked, Flohr allegedly directed the agent to "go through Fant" to talk about the future purchase of the additional machine guns
According to the affidavit, the agent met with Fant at the same location, where they had another conversation about the additional machine guns
The agent said he paid Fant the rest of the money ($400) he owed Fant and Flohr for the first machine gun.
He also spoke with Flohr during that meeting. At that time, Flohr allegedly said that he also wanted to build other types of machine guns, including a fully automatic Thompson.
The agent said that he contacted Fant by phone on April 22 and April 30. They discussed the status of the 10 additional machine guns during both conversations.
During the April 30 conversation, the agent said he and Fant agreed to meet May 8 so the agent could purchase the machine guns.
Fant and Flohr were both arrested on May 8. They were each charged with one count of unknowingly and unlawfully transferring and possessing a machine gun
They were released on personal recognizance bonds May 13 pending further court appearances.
The prosecution has since requested and obtained additional time to file an indictment in the case. The deadline is now July 11.
E-mail the reporter: abogdanovic@timespapers.com