A Baltimore County man described as a “rogue gun dealer” got probation Monday for illegally selling an assault rifle to a Parkville man who died in a shootout with police.
Gun dealer Sanford Abrams, 58, of Owings Mills, entered an Alford plea in Baltimore County Circuit Court, meaning he maintainshis innocence but acknowledges prosecutors have enough evidence to convict him.
He received a suspended five-year sentence and one year of probation.
“He is now prohibited from selling any firearms,” said Baltimore County Assistant State?s Attorney Kristin Blumer.
But Cindy Showalter, whose emotionally unstable son Keith, 25, was fatally shot in February by police while holding guns Abrams illegally sold him, objected to the plea deal.
Holding pictures of her son as a young boy, Cindy Showalter confronted Blumer outside the courtroom.
“Why didn?t you put him in jail?” Showalter asked, her voice rising. “He belongs in jail.”
Abrams and his attorney, Norman King, refused to comment to reporters as they left the courtroom.
But during the proceedings, King told Judge John Turnbull that Abrams? illegal sale of a Bushmaster assault rifle was an innocent mistake.
“We?re here because of a technical decision about what is an assault weapon and what is not,” he said.
In June 2006, the nonprofit, pro-gun-control Brady Center issued a report about Abrams? Harford Road Valley Gun store, called “Death Valley: Profile of a Rogue Gun Dealer.”
“Valley Gun of Baltimore, Maryland, is one of the leading suppliers of crime guns in the nation,” the report stated. “Between 1996 and 2000, 483 crime guns were traced to Valley Gun, ranking it as one of the top 40 crime gun retailers in the nation.”
Baltimore County police Detective Bill Ryan, who investigated Abrams, said he doubted the Showalter sale was an innocent mistake.
“Mr. Abrams has been in the gun business his entire adult life,” Ryan said. “Mr. Abrams knew what kind of guns he had.”
A former National Rifle Association board member, Abrams has also been cited for more than 900 violations of federal gun laws, including failing to account for hundreds of weapons that disappeared from his store.
In 2006, a federal court ordered him to cease firearm sales, but Abrams violated that order by selling guns to Showalter, prosecutors said.
On Feb. 18, Baltimore County police fatally shot Showalter at about 3:30 a.m. after he emerged from his apartment wearing camouflage and fired a rifle several times at officers.
A man with a history of emotional problems, Showalter had been in a fight with his girlfriend.
Because of an earlier assault conviction, Showalter was prohibited from owning guns.
