Colorado man who conspired with Navy SEAL in federal weapons case avoids prison
AP
DURANGO, Colo. — A Colorado man who pleaded guilty to conspiring with a U.S. Navy SEAL to sell explosives and machine guns smuggled in from the Middle East has avoided prison time.
The Durango Herald reports (http://bit.ly/Mn67Ja) Richard Paul was sentenced Wednesday to eight months of home confinement after signing a plea agreement with the U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Nevada. The Durango man pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell firearms and explosives.
As part of the plea agreement, Paul agreed to testify against Nicholas Bickle of San Diego. Bickle, a former Navy SEAL, was sentenced Tuesday to 17½ years in prison after he was convicted of felony weapons charges, including dealing in stolen firearms.
Federal and local authorities seized machine guns, grenades and five pounds of military C-4 explosive from Paul’s garage in 2010.
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