Monday,

August 14, 2000

The guns of Dale Cramm

Police seized his weapons after a deadly shooting on his property, but, police say, he replaced his arsenal days later at a gun show

By SCOTT NORTH and WARREN CORNWALL

Herald Writers

His son had been arrested for allegedly gunning down two teen-agers in his front yard. He was out on bail after police claimed they found heroin, marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms in his home.

The month of June brought bleak times for Dale Cramm, 44, of Everett. Not only was he under investigation as an alleged drug dealer, detectives also were probing claims that he played a key role in turning a May 30 fistfight between young people into a gun battle that had snuffed out two lives.

Detectives trying to make sense of the fatal shootings of 18-year-olds Jason Thompson and Jesse Stoner had swiftly disarmed Cramm, seizing five shotguns and six rifles, including three military-style SKS semiautomatic weapons, some fitted with banana-style magazines and bayonets.

That apparently didn't stop Cramm from rebuilding his arsenal.

Investigators believe that within days of having his weapons taken away, Cramm headed to a gun show at the county-owned fairgrounds in Monroe where he reportedly bought two semiautomatic handguns, another SKS rifle, hollow-point ammunition and high-capacity magazines, according to documents reviewed by The Herald.

There was nothing apparently illegal about Cramm's reported weapons purchases during the Classic Gun and Knife Show, held June 10 and 11 in a fairgrounds exhibition hall, said Jim Townsend, the county's chief criminal deputy prosecutor.

That's because Cramm was free on bail, not yet charged with a crime and under no court order barring him from access to firearms. He has since been rearrested, charged with felony drug trafficking and tampering with witnesses and evidence. His bail is set at more than $200,000, in part because of allegations from a former housemate that Cramm began stockpiling weapons in June, including those he bought at the gun show plus an AR-15 military-style rifle and body armor, because he was preparing for a violent showdown with police.

Police have yet to find the weapons, which an informant has said Cramm hid before his arrest, but Townsend said detectives are convinced the purchases occurred.

It makes little sense that a suspect in a violent double slaying could acquire more weapons on county property, Townsend said.

Gun shows have moved to the front lines in the national debate over firearms controls in the wake of the April 1999 killings at Colorado's Columbine High School. Some contend that lax controls of firearm sales at gun shows helped two troubled young men obtain three of the four firearms they used to kill 13 people and then themselves.

Congress has been hotly debating increased criminal background checks for firearms purchases at gun shows. Under existing law, only people trying to buy firearms from federally licensed firearms dealers must submit to background checks at a gun show.

If Cramm has any thoughts about the gun purchases, he isn't sharing.

"I don't have anything I can tell you on the Cramm case," said the man's attorney, Everett defense lawyer Mark Mestel. "My client didn't want to make a statement."

Snohomish County Council member Kirke Sievers said Cramm's apparent ability to buy firearms after the May 30 slayings underscores his unease about gun shows.

"If I had my choices, we wouldn't be selling any guns on any county property in Snohomish County," he said.

Sievers last year pushed for a county fee for gun show vendors, partly to bring in revenues, but also so the county could monitor who is selling firearms. The proposal was defeated after gun show advocates threatened a lawsuit, he said.

The council member said he plans to resurrect the proposal during this year's county budget review. If it is turned down again, he plans to push to have gun shows barred altogether.

That would be a mistake, said Jim Waldron, a spokesman for the Washington Arms Collectors, a group that regularly sponsors gun shows.

The show where Cramm reportedly purchased his new guns was not affiliated with the Washington Arms Collectors. The show's business agent did not return repeated phone calls. After years of hosting shows at the fairgrounds, the business closed in mid-June and has no more contracts for gun shows at Monroe, fairgrounds manager Rich Hartzell said.

He said the county has never had any problems with gun shows.

"They've been good clients," he said.

Waldron said that Washington Arms Collectors' shows are "closed," meaning that while anybody may attend, only club members may engage in weapons sales or purchases. Membership is open only to those who may legally own firearms and is contingent on the ability to pass a criminal background check conducted for a fee by the Washington State Patrol.

Waldron said about half of the vendors at the group's gun shows are licensed firearms dealers, whose sales are subject to the same regulations, including background checks, that are in place at gun stores. Those sales take place in the presence of uniformed police brought in to provide security, Waldron said.

"Would you rather guns were sold in a controlled environment or one that was totally outside public scrutiny?" he asked. "Shutting down gun shows will encourage a black market in guns -- guns sold out of car trunks or in back alleys."

But the Washington Arms Collectors' screening procedures, including the state background check, didn't stop Cramm from becoming a member.

Detectives were told Cramm used his Washington Arms Collectors membership badge, and his county-issued permit to carry a concealed weapon, as identification for his June gun show purchases, records show.

Waldron said Cramm's membership was suspended as soon as the group learned of his arrest, and if convicted he will be expelled.

The arms collectors membership should have no meaning outside of the group, he said. That's not the case, however, for a concealed weapons permit, which allows waiver of the state waiting period for handgun purchases, Waldron said. Even before a conviction, a person is ineligible to purchase or possess firearms when charged with a felony, he said.

"I'm frankly surprised that Mr. Cramm's concealed pistol license was not taken from him when he was charged," Waldron said.

Townsend said that Waldron raises a good point, and that criminal defendants routinely ought to be advised about their firearms possession status when they are arraigned on felony charges.

Bruce Gryniewski, executive director of the gun-control group Washington Ceasefire, said gun shows remain an easy venue for people with legal troubles to get their hands on guns.

"This situation with Mr. Cramm is a perfect example of that," he said.

The county may be taking legal risks by hosting gun shows if someone gets hurt by a gun bought there, Gryniewski added.

"If I was the county executive I would be very concerned about some liability there," he said. "I personally don't think public facilities should be used to promote gun shows."

Frank Shoichet is a Seattle attorney who has successfully brought wrongful death cases against people who failed to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have access. He said it was legally possible that the county, as owner of a gun show venue, could be held liable if a firearm wound up in the wrong hands. A key factor would be how much the county knows about potential problems at gun shows, and "they probably have a reason now," he said.

Shoichet quickly found a case in Ohio where a jury hit a gun show sponsor for more than $750,000 in damages after a teen-ager stole a firearm and shot somebody, leaving them paralyzed.

"My guess is you are going to see litigation like this more and more," he said.

County Executive Bob Drewel is an advocate of federal legislation to extend background checks to gun show sales. He said he was concerned about Cramm obtaining firearms from a gun show on county property.

Early this month he issued a statement criticizing Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush's crime policy, noting that "Texas leads the nation in executions and gun shows. It's no surprise that Texas has a crime rate far higher than Washington and most other states."

However, he didn't take a position on whether the county should continue to host gun shows.

"That's a policy issue that's been discussed here, and we would of course react to the input from citizens in that regard," he said.