Washington
Gun store sold hundreds of high-capacity ammunition magazines before state filed appeal
KELSO, Washington (AP) — A Washington state gun store owner said he sold hundreds of high-capacity ammunition magazines in the short span of time Monday between a judge ruling a ban on the sales unconstitutional and the state filing an emergency appeal to the Washington Supreme Court.
Wally Wentz, owner of Gator’s Custom Guns in the small city of Kelso, opened his store Monday when he heard about the ruling, KGW-TV reported. Wentz is behind the court challenge to Washington’s high-capacity magazine ban, with the help of the Silent Majority Foundation in eastern Washington. A post on the gun store’s Facebook page said the store was adjusting hours to stay open longer and that it would be open daily “UNTIL WE GET TOLD WE CANT SELL MAGS AGAIN.”
Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled that Washington’s ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violates both the Washington state and U.S. constitutions. He issued an immediate injunction to stop the state from enforcing the ban, which has been in place since 2022.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson then filed an emergency appeal to the state Supreme Court seeking to keep the law in effect during the appeals process. That was granted Monday evening.
Ferguson wrote in his filing that even a temporary pause in the law’s enforcement would likely “unleash a flood” of high-capacity magazines in Washington.
Ferguson and other supporters of the ban say it saves lives and is essential to addressing mass shootings.
Wentz told KGW that he’s lost up to 40% of business because of the ban and that he won’t hesitate to appeal all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Nevada
Retired wrestler, ex-congressional candidate challenging evidence in Vegas murder case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A retired professional wrestler and former congressional candidate in Nevada and Texas is challenging evidence in the case accusing him of killing a man during a Halloween Party last year at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.
Daniel Rodimer, 45, who now lives in Texas, was not asked to enter a plea during his initial court appearance Wednesday on an open murder charge in the death of 47-year-old Christopher Tapp of Idaho.
Rodimer surrendered to Las Vegas police for his arrest March 6 and remains free on a $200,000 bail.
Defense lawyers David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld submitted documents arguing that prosecutors improperly relied on privileged conversations between Rodimer and his wife for evidence that Rodimer fatally punched Tapp.
The judge did not immediately decide the evidence question.
Rodimer, a Republican, lost bids for Congress in Nevada in 2020 and in Texas in 2021.
Tapp served more than 20 years in prison in a 1996 killing before receiving an $11.7 million settlement from Idaho Falls in 2022 in a wrongful conviction lawsuit.
Tennessee
Nashville school shooting families accuse senator of using bill to get his way in records lawsuit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Family members representing the six people killed in a Nashville school shooting last year have filed an ethics complaint against a Tennessee state senator, arguing he is being self-serving by both suing for the release of the shooter’s writings and filing legislation to prevent third parties like them from intervening in public records lawsuits.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire is one of several people who filed open records requests last year seeking access to journals and other materials that were collected by Metro Nashville Police during their investigation. Police have said they will release the documents, but not until their investigation is closed, which is expected to be in a few months.
When their records request was denied last year, the senator and several others sued to force the release of the records. They argue there is not an open investigation because the shooter is dead, killed by police, and no one else is being prosecuted. But the case has been complicated and delayed by a dispute over who can be a party to the lawsuit.
A group of Covenant parents, the Covenant School and the Covenant Presbyterian Church that shares its building all sought to intervene in the case and were eventually granted that right by the court. The school and the church are seeking to ensure that no details are made public that could jeopardize the security of the building. The parents do not want any of the documents released, arguing that they could further traumatize their children and inspire copycats.
A hearing in the records case is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
After losing the battle over who could intervene in court, the Chattanooga Republican sponsored a bill this year that states “intervention by a non-governmental third party in a public records lawsuit is not permitted.”
Although the bill is not retroactive, the ethics complaint filed on Tuesday accuses Gardenhire of “using his position as a State Senator to pass legislation in order to eliminate opposing parties.” The complaint says Gardenhire should have disclosed his involvement in the Covenant records lawsuit but didn’t.
Speaking for the bill in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 12, Gardenhire told his fellow lawmakers, “Third party intervenors take away the government’s control of its own records.” However, he did not mention the records lawsuit. On March 18, the bill passed the Senate without debate or opposition. It is scheduled to be taken up by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a victim’s rights group sent an email to House members on Wednesday urging them to oppose the legislation.
“Today, sadly, in an environment where criminals are given more rights than victims, this is just another blow to victims if this bill passes, taking away what little power they may have after a victimization to keep some semblance of dignity in the middle of a horrible nightmare that changes their life forever,” wrote Verna Wyatt, co-founder of Tennessee Voices for Victims.
Gardenhire declined to comment through a spokesperson.
It is now up to the Senate Ethics Committee to decide if it will take up the complaint in the remaining weeks of the legislative session. In 2022 the panel — made up of four Republicans and one Democrat — met after receiving an internal complaint against former Democratic Sen. Katrina Robinson regarding her wire fraud conviction, and the Republicans recommended her removal.
Gun store sold hundreds of high-capacity ammunition magazines before state filed appeal
KELSO, Washington (AP) — A Washington state gun store owner said he sold hundreds of high-capacity ammunition magazines in the short span of time Monday between a judge ruling a ban on the sales unconstitutional and the state filing an emergency appeal to the Washington Supreme Court.
Wally Wentz, owner of Gator’s Custom Guns in the small city of Kelso, opened his store Monday when he heard about the ruling, KGW-TV reported. Wentz is behind the court challenge to Washington’s high-capacity magazine ban, with the help of the Silent Majority Foundation in eastern Washington. A post on the gun store’s Facebook page said the store was adjusting hours to stay open longer and that it would be open daily “UNTIL WE GET TOLD WE CANT SELL MAGS AGAIN.”
Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Gary Bashor ruled that Washington’s ban on magazines that hold more than 10 rounds violates both the Washington state and U.S. constitutions. He issued an immediate injunction to stop the state from enforcing the ban, which has been in place since 2022.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson then filed an emergency appeal to the state Supreme Court seeking to keep the law in effect during the appeals process. That was granted Monday evening.
Ferguson wrote in his filing that even a temporary pause in the law’s enforcement would likely “unleash a flood” of high-capacity magazines in Washington.
Ferguson and other supporters of the ban say it saves lives and is essential to addressing mass shootings.
Wentz told KGW that he’s lost up to 40% of business because of the ban and that he won’t hesitate to appeal all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Nevada
Retired wrestler, ex-congressional candidate challenging evidence in Vegas murder case
LAS VEGAS (AP) — A retired professional wrestler and former congressional candidate in Nevada and Texas is challenging evidence in the case accusing him of killing a man during a Halloween Party last year at a Las Vegas Strip hotel.
Daniel Rodimer, 45, who now lives in Texas, was not asked to enter a plea during his initial court appearance Wednesday on an open murder charge in the death of 47-year-old Christopher Tapp of Idaho.
Rodimer surrendered to Las Vegas police for his arrest March 6 and remains free on a $200,000 bail.
Defense lawyers David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld submitted documents arguing that prosecutors improperly relied on privileged conversations between Rodimer and his wife for evidence that Rodimer fatally punched Tapp.
The judge did not immediately decide the evidence question.
Rodimer, a Republican, lost bids for Congress in Nevada in 2020 and in Texas in 2021.
Tapp served more than 20 years in prison in a 1996 killing before receiving an $11.7 million settlement from Idaho Falls in 2022 in a wrongful conviction lawsuit.
Tennessee
Nashville school shooting families accuse senator of using bill to get his way in records lawsuit
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Family members representing the six people killed in a Nashville school shooting last year have filed an ethics complaint against a Tennessee state senator, arguing he is being self-serving by both suing for the release of the shooter’s writings and filing legislation to prevent third parties like them from intervening in public records lawsuits.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire is one of several people who filed open records requests last year seeking access to journals and other materials that were collected by Metro Nashville Police during their investigation. Police have said they will release the documents, but not until their investigation is closed, which is expected to be in a few months.
When their records request was denied last year, the senator and several others sued to force the release of the records. They argue there is not an open investigation because the shooter is dead, killed by police, and no one else is being prosecuted. But the case has been complicated and delayed by a dispute over who can be a party to the lawsuit.
A group of Covenant parents, the Covenant School and the Covenant Presbyterian Church that shares its building all sought to intervene in the case and were eventually granted that right by the court. The school and the church are seeking to ensure that no details are made public that could jeopardize the security of the building. The parents do not want any of the documents released, arguing that they could further traumatize their children and inspire copycats.
A hearing in the records case is scheduled to begin on Tuesday.
After losing the battle over who could intervene in court, the Chattanooga Republican sponsored a bill this year that states “intervention by a non-governmental third party in a public records lawsuit is not permitted.”
Although the bill is not retroactive, the ethics complaint filed on Tuesday accuses Gardenhire of “using his position as a State Senator to pass legislation in order to eliminate opposing parties.” The complaint says Gardenhire should have disclosed his involvement in the Covenant records lawsuit but didn’t.
Speaking for the bill in the Senate State and Local Government Committee on March 12, Gardenhire told his fellow lawmakers, “Third party intervenors take away the government’s control of its own records.” However, he did not mention the records lawsuit. On March 18, the bill passed the Senate without debate or opposition. It is scheduled to be taken up by the House of Representatives on Thursday.
Meanwhile, a victim’s rights group sent an email to House members on Wednesday urging them to oppose the legislation.
“Today, sadly, in an environment where criminals are given more rights than victims, this is just another blow to victims if this bill passes, taking away what little power they may have after a victimization to keep some semblance of dignity in the middle of a horrible nightmare that changes their life forever,” wrote Verna Wyatt, co-founder of Tennessee Voices for Victims.
Gardenhire declined to comment through a spokesperson.
It is now up to the Senate Ethics Committee to decide if it will take up the complaint in the remaining weeks of the legislative session. In 2022 the panel — made up of four Republicans and one Democrat — met after receiving an internal complaint against former Democratic Sen. Katrina Robinson regarding her wire fraud conviction, and the Republicans recommended her removal.
