New Castle man pleads innocent to firearms charges
By Greg Masse
Post Independent Staff
Thomas B. Gallagher, the New Castle man arrested April 28 on federal firearms charges, pleaded innocent Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Grand Junction.
From this point on, his court case will be heard in Denver.
Gallagher, 41, is the owner of As You Wish Pools and Spas in Glenwood Springs. He was arrested by U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents and Garfield County sheriff’s deputies on April 28 while driving near his home.
As Gallagher was being arrested, ATF agents executed a search warrant at his home on County Road 245. Agents reported that the search turned up an illegal fully automatic rifle; six other firearms; conversion parts used to convert legal rifles into fully automatic rifles; and a large amount of ammunition. The firearms and ammunition were seized by ATF agents.
Gallagher appeared in front of federal Magistrate Judge Gudrun Rice Wednesday, when he pleaded innocent to all seven federal charges: six counts of illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possessing a fully automatic rifle.
Prior to the bust, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office had received information that Gallagher was shooting an automatic rifle on his property.
When Gallagher was pulled over on April 28, deputies found marijuana and drug paraphernalia in his vehicle. He was charged in Garfield County Court with suspicion of driving on a suspended license, no proof of insurance, possession of less than one ounce of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.
After Gallagher was issued a summons for the traffic and marijuana violations, he was turned over to the custody of the ATF agents for prosecution in federal court.
Contact Greg Masse: 945-8515, ext. 511
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