The Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- A former Stevens County sheriff’s deputy obtained an illegal submachine gun from the Kettle Falls Police Department and later used it to shoot up a neighborhood, a federal prosecutor said.
Deputy Will Clark was fired and convicted of illegally possessing a machine gun and other charges after an illegal Steyr 9mm submachine gun was fired from a deck outside his rented Suncrest home.
No one was injured, but rounds struck nearby homes, prompting complaints and a federal investigation into how Clark obtained the weapon.
Sheriff’s officials say they’re not responsible because they didn’t issue the weapon and Clark was off duty. Clark, 31, and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment.
The fully automatic weapon Clark fired at two neighbors’ homes came indirectly from the Kettle Falls Police Department, former department Chief Duane Gagnon said.
The Steyr MPi69 became illegal when it passed into private possession. Washington law bans private possession of automatic weapons, and federal law requires a license that Clark and others connected to the incident didn’t have.
The source of the weapon was a mystery until U.S. Attorney Jim McDevitt in Spokane recently said federal agents determined that the weapon once belonged to the Kettle Falls police.
It was given to Clark by Gagnon in November 2001, about five months before the April 2002 Suncrest gunfire.
Gagnon, now 73, was retired from law enforcement when he gave the submachine gun to Clark.
Although the weapon was never placed on a formal inventory and current Kettle Falls officials have no record of it, Gagnon said he bought it with city money in 1984 or 1985.
The gun remained with the police department when Gagnon left and his now-deceased brother, Al Gagnon, took over as chief.
Under Al Gagnon, the weapon was assigned to Clark, who was a Kettle Falls officer at the time, Duane Gagnon said. When Al Gagnon resigned as chief, he dropped the gun off at Duane Gagnon’s house.
Duane Gagnon said his brother apparently thought, incorrectly, that the Steyr belonged to him.
About six months later, Clark, then a sheriff’s deputy, came to his house asking to borrow the weapon, Gagnon said.
Gagnon said he thought Clark was authorized by the sheriff’s office to have a submachine gun, so he handed over the Steyr.
McDevitt said his decision not to prosecute anyone for supplying the weapon Clark possessed was based on funding and other considerations.
“It’s always a matter of resources,” McDevitt said. “Where do you use your resources best? This was a case where we just determined that it wasn’t a good use of our resources.”
McDevitt said Gagnon’s contrition as well as his age and health contributed to the decision not to prosecute the veteran lawman.
Clark was sentenced to nine months in jail on state charges of illegal possession of a machine gun, reckless endangerment and obstruction of law enforcement officers.
Clark and his roommate, Christopher L. Spurlock, now 29, attempted to cover up the incident by misleading investigating officers. Spurlock got 30 days for obstructing and for illegally discharging a machine gun.
Two of their friends -- brothers Brian D. Cravens, now 26, and Jeffrey L. Cravens, 24 -- pleaded guilty to illegal discharge of a firearm. Jeffrey Cravens was sentenced to 30 days in jail; Brian Cravens, to 120 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine.