Ammunition for police: Bill targets ex-felons with bullets

[Judi Lynn]

Posted on Wed, Feb. 18, 2004




LEGISLATURE


Ammunition for police: Bill targets ex-felons with bullets

A Miami Beach lawmaker pushes a bill to make it illegal for former felons -- currently banned by state law from having guns -- to possess ammunition.

BY MARC CAPUTO

[e-mail]


TALLAHASSEE - Breon Washington, a repeat felon with the ''Dog Pound'' gang, presented prosecutors with a dream case when Miami police busted him near a school with bags of cocaine and marijuana, two guns and 68 rounds of ammunition, including machine-gun bullets.

Washington pleaded guilty in December to drug and gun possession, but he couldn't be charged with owning the ammunition under Florida law. Though former felons are banned from having guns, only people with a domestic violence injunction against them are prohibited from having both guns and bullets.

Rep. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, said it's time for that to change. A criminal justice subcommittee agreed with him Tuesday, unanimously approving his bill making ammunition possession by ex-convicts and juvenile delinquents a second-degree felony. Career criminals would face a first-degree felony charge.

''No legitimate reason could justify felons and violent gang members possessing ammunition,'' Gelber said, noting that Florida has one of the highest violent crime rates in the nation. ``This law will give police a valuable tool to respond to Floridas oppressive violent crime rate.''
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http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/7975793.htm