Suzanne Holland Chief Justice of the Universal Supreme Court of the Tsilhqot’in Nation

[ArthurWankspittle]

Does the AP ammo get him a few extra points when his sentence is worked out? Can't remember if it make the list or qualifies for the enhancement or is an extra charge in his situation.

[alexhammer]

Does the AP ammo get him a few extra points when his sentence is worked out? Can't remember if it make the list or qualifies for the enhancement or is an extra charge in his situation.

Nope, the AP ammo didn't enhance the sentence or add a charge. I'm not even 100% sure that the prosecution pointed it out to the jury. The ammo (AP or not) just reinforced the charge.

I hadn't really considered it until this very moment, but when Parsons' house was searched in TN (this led to the TN felon-in-possession charges) they recovered some .223 ammunition that didn't match the two firearms seized at that time (a .308 Remington rifle and a .357 revolver). But that .223 ammo sure does fit the LAR-15 rifle in his plane...

Maybe the FBI snuck into his house before the search and planted some mismatched ammo because they were bored.

[Jeffrey]

No Alex, we’re saying Parsons actual defense was that the FBI planted the rifle and ammo.

Also wow his public defender was giving 110% effort.

[alexhammer]

Maybe I just can't think at that level of paranoid conspiracy.

[alexhammer]

Also wow his public defender was giving 110% effort.

Totally agreed. When I read the day #3 transcript after the prosecution had rested... you can feel Parsons' attorney's pain. The one defense witness (besides Parsons) backfired in a massive way. And Parsons... might as well hand him a shovel, he digs his own grave every time.

[notorial dissent]

Also wow his public defender was giving 110% effort.

Totally agreed. When I read the day #3 transcript after the prosecution had rested... you can feel Parsons' attorney's pain. The one defense witness (besides Parsons) backfired in a massive way. And Parsons... might as well hand him a shovel, he digs his own grave every time.

All Parson's has to do is open his mouth and it's all over but the paperwork.

[Frater I*I]

Does the AP ammo get him a few extra points when his sentence is worked out? Can't remember if it make the list or qualifies for the enhancement or is an extra charge in his situation.

Nope, the AP ammo didn't enhance the sentence or add a charge. I'm not even 100% sure that the prosecution pointed it out to the jury. The ammo (AP or not) just reinforced the charge.

I hadn't really considered it until this very moment, but when Parsons' house was searched in TN (this led to the TN felon-in-possession charges) they recovered some .223 ammunition that didn't match the two firearms seized at that time (a .308 Remington rifle and a .357 revolver). But that .223 ammo sure does fit the LAR-15 rifle in his plane...

Maybe the FBI snuck into his house before the search and planted some mismatched ammo because they were bored.

Not to mention they also found 2 high capacity AR magazines and a .22 conversion kt for an AR type rifle.

[alexhammer]

Not to mention they also found 2 high capacity AR magazines and a .22 conversion kt for an AR type rifle.

High-capacity rifle magazines? You mean like the kind Barry Laxton had, and that Parsons ranted on and on and on about in his first TN trial?

BTW why in the hell is Parsons asking Rudy whether Barry Laxton is still alive? I heard that in a jail call on YT recently. Is he so bored that he's going to try to sue his victim again?

[notorial dissent]

Does the AP ammo get him a few extra points when his sentence is worked out? Can't remember if it make the list or qualifies for the enhancement or is an extra charge in his situation.

Nope, the AP ammo didn't enhance the sentence or add a charge. I'm not even 100% sure that the prosecution pointed it out to the jury. The ammo (AP or not) just reinforced the charge.

I hadn't really considered it until this very moment, but when Parsons' house was searched in TN (this led to the TN felon-in-possession charges) they recovered some .223 ammunition that didn't match the two firearms seized at that time (a .308 Remington rifle and a .357 revolver). But that .223 ammo sure does fit the LAR-15 rifle in his plane...

Maybe the FBI snuck into his house before the search and planted some mismatched ammo because they were bored.

Not to mention they also found 2 high capacity AR magazines and a .22 conversion kt for an AR type rifle.

Undoubtedly with his fingerprints and DNA all over them.

[eric]

The whole thing about armour piercing ammo is simply a red herring. Parsons may or may not have been in possession of a weapon capable of firing ammunition that various people claim as being AP capable - it's not. Depending upon whose rules you are following there is SS 109 green tip - just an attempt by the military to make the ammunition useable out to 600 meters by squad automatic weapons (not what Parsons had). There is also the environmentally friendly 223 ammo - steel penetrator etc which qualifies under some rules as AP ammo. Simple basic fact - none of this ammunition in the real world can be thought of as armour piecing at a range over 25 meters and under that MIGHT go through a kevlar vest. Spoken by an ex-tanker who viewed armour piercing as going though 2 feet of steel at 2000 meters and would rock your world when you fired it and would lift the front end of your 50 ton tank off the ground. Parsons probably just found a deal on some milsurp ammo and bought it.

[alexhammer]

For those who haven't read the Parsons federal trial transcript (thank you once again Frater!) I wanted to share one of the cringiest moments. I'm sure it endeared him to the jury... while not even slightly supporting his conspiracy theory.

Context: Day 3 of 3, about 11am. The prosecution has rested. Defense has offered about 21 written proofs into evidence, all of which are marked for exhibit only and will not go to the jury, as well as a handful of oral proofs which likewise won't go to the jury. Defense is ready to call witnesses. They never submitted a witness list, so theoretically Parsons is the only possible witness. Parsons insists on calling one of the US Marshalls in the courtroom, Mark Anderson, to the stand. Parsons likely tells his attorney what to ask, as neither his attorney nor Anderson knew this would happen. The prosecution doesn't object, so the jury is brought in and Anderson takes the stand.

(I've removed superfluous testimony)

Q. Did you and fellow deputies take Mr. Parsons to a local facility here in Omaha for the purpose of a blood draw?

A. Yes. We had a court order to do so. So on that day I presume, yes, we transported him to a facility with the purpose of drawing blood.

Q. Yes. And to be fair, that was pursuant to a court order?

A. Yes, it was.

Q. So I apologize for calling you cold on this, so I want to make that known. But you and fellow deputies took Mr. Parsons to this facility pursuant to court order for the purpose of a blood draw. So far so good?

A. Yes.

Q. And when you arrived at this place to have the blood draw did you go in with -- did all of the deputies go in with Mr. Parsons?

A. Yes.

Q. And can you tell us what happened inside, to the best of your recollection?

A. We escorted Mr. Parsons from our prisoner van into the facility. When we got into the facility, at the threshold of the door, he became combative and resisted, would not walk on his own, so we had to forcibly pull him into the clinic and forcibly put him down into -- take him into a room, forcibly put him down in a chair, where at that point the four of us attempted to hold him down while he was yelling, screaming, and being resistant to our lawful verbal commands to stop, to attempt to draw blood, and a medical personnel staff was there to attempt to draw the blood. At that point in time, we were not successful in getting the blood draw because he would not stay still long enough for the nurse to do it.

Q. And ultimately was there a blood draw?

A. Yes. We kind of prepared for that. We had brought a restraint chair with us, which is a special chair that the U.S. Marshal Service uses, and we transferred him from the restraint chair -- or from the exam chair to the restraint chair. We physically tied him down, you know, strapped his arms, legs, strapped everything down so he could not move. We still held him down, and then at that point we were able to keep him still enough so the nurse or the medical staff there could get a blood sample.

Q. And through those efforts a blood draw and a blood sample was completed?

A. To my knowledge, it was.

Q. Like, what happened to [the blood] after that?

A. I have no idea what happened to it. I would assume it got sent to -- for -- the purpose of the whole test was for a TB test, which is standard procedure for anybody in custody. I would assume it went to be tested for TB, and I would assume that we got the results, you know, the results were given back as far as TB, but I don't know for sure. That wasn't -- we don't -- I don't handle that part of it.

[Jeffrey]

Have we mentioned that Parsons got the airport guy in trouble for his nonsense.

[notorial dissent]

Parsons does seem to have that effect on the people around him.

[alexhammer]

Oh yeah, Weverka at the airport in Nebraska. I think he pled to a reduced charge or something. He was pretty flaky as a witness but I think he filled in a lot of gaps about both Mike and Pat Parsons' cases.

[notorial dissent]

I certainly don't think Weverka did Parsons any favors with his testimony, but then Parsons didn't help himself either come to it.

[Jeffrey]

Anthony Todd Weverka, an Arapahoe man who got wrapped up in the kidnapping plot, entered a pretrial diversion agreement in order to have his charged dismissed, according to the acting U.S. Attorney Robert C. Stuart.

Weverka was arrested by the FBI after being accused of failing to disclose information about a plot to kidnap the Furnas County Sheriff and a judge in Tennessee.

According to the U.S. Attorney here in Nebraska, Weverka learned of the kidnapping plot, which included a New Orleans bounty hunter paid to arrest and take the sheriff to Canada, but lied, omitted key facts, and helped those involved.

[Jeffrey]

Mike's suspicious aversion to the TB test is explained in day 3 of the trial. The feds found DNA on the gun and wanted a sample from Parsons to confirm it was his DNA, Parsons refused.

[NYGman]

Mike's suspicious aversion to the TB test is explained in day 3 of the trial. The feds found DNA on the gun and wanted a sample from Parsons to confirm it was his DNA, Parsons refused.

And there are no other court ordered ways to gather his DNA?

[alexhammer]

Mike's suspicious aversion to the TB test is explained in day 3 of the trial. The feds found DNA on the gun and wanted a sample from Parsons to confirm it was his DNA, Parsons refused.

And there are no other court ordered ways to gather his DNA?

Sure there are. But the government didn't pursue them. They address it in their appellate reply. Basically they say:

* It was hard enough just doing a TB test on this guy
* We didn't need DNA evidence to prove that Parsons owned and possessed the gun
* We can't collect both DNA and fingerprints from the same object

The unspoken fact is that DNA matching is not cheap, and they likely didn't feel it was necessary to spend the $ on it after spending so much on virtually every aspect of this prosecution. Hell, consider how expensive it was (personnel, time, court effort, etc) just to get the damn TB test.

Also, the government had one more bit of evidence about Parsons being in possession... it would have been tricky evidence to introduce. But on at least one recorded phone call from Sue Holland to her bounty hunter, she says that there are firearms in the plane that the bounty hunter can use during the kidnapping & jail break. She didn't use coy code words, she was explicit.

[Jeffrey]

Is that audio out there? Also why isn’t Mike in the BOP system as an inmate?