Contrary to what many people think, the typical gun rights advocate doesn’t want to put an AR-15 into everyone’s hands. There are people we tend to agree are off-limits. Someone found to have mental illness to where they can’t be trusted with a gun, for example, is someone most of us don’t want to see armed. The others typically are just uncomfortable with the idea that someone can lose a right because of what a doctor says more than actually supporting dangerous people having guns.

Another group we prefer disarmed are felons, as a general rule.

Which is why I, for one, am happy to see this woman taken off the streets.

Longview Woman who Purchased Guns for Violent Felon Sentenced to a Year in Prison

The Felon, an Avowed Violent White Supremacist, Killed Three People in July 2016

          A Longview, Washington woman was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to one year in prison and three years of supervised release for abetting a felon in possession of a firearm and making a false statement during the purchase of firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  ANDREA SIBLEY, 29, lied on federal forms and purchased at least nine firearms for her boyfriend, Brent Luyster.  Luyster, is an avowed violent white supremacist who shot and killed three people, and shot a fourth woman in the face in Woodland, Washington in July 2016.  SIBLEY was convicted in state court of rendering criminal assistance in connection with those murders.  At the sentencing hearing today U.S. District Judge Benjamin H. Settle said, “Guns are being used to take lives of innocent people at an alarming rate.  So it is a serious crime when a person is helping someone who shouldn’t have guns get guns…. [You] had to know someone was going to get hurt by these firearms but that did not deter you.”

“This defendant lied repeatedly to provide multiple powerful firearms to a man with a horrible history of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes.  “Each time she walked into a gun store and lied she let herself become part of a terrible crime.  We will hold accountable all those who fail to comply with the laws meant to keep guns out of the hands of prohibited and dangerous persons.”

According to records filed in the case, in May 2016, Luyster and SIBLEY invited Luyster’s ex-girlfriend to visit their Longview home.  Luyster assaulted the ex-girlfriend, pistol whipping her and firing shots at her as she ran from the home.  The ex-girlfriend escaped, and SIBLEY left the home with her son and the ex-girlfriend’s son in her car.  When stopped by police, SIBLEY denied knowing about any gunshots or violence.  When deputies arrived at the home they heard gunshots from the wooded area behind the house and ultimately got Luyster to surrender.  The deputies found three firearms near where Luyster had been – a semi-automatic rifle, a .40 handgun and a shotgun.  Six more firearms were inside the home.  ATF agents determined that SIBLEY had purchased all of the firearms using her parent’s address, making false statements on the purchase forms.

Luyster was charged with assault, reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a firearm.  On June 7, 2016, his bail was reduced and he was released based in part on a letter SIBLEY wrote on his behalf.  Just over a month later, on July 15, 2016, Luyster killed three people and injured a fourth at the home in Woodland.  The firearm used in those murders has never been found.

“Andrea Sibley’s criminal conduct during which she purchased the firearms for a convicted felon and white supremacist led directly to three tragic murders,” said ATF Seattle Field Division Special Agent in Charge Darek Pleasants.  “While our heartfelt condolences go out to the families of those lost due to this criminal conduct, ATF is proud to have been able to work alongside our partner agencies to identify and bring Sibley to justice.”

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bruce Miyake.

Basically, this woman took the worst of the worst people imaginable and helped him buy a gun. This same maniac then murdered three people while out on bail, apparently. Probably with a weapon she helped him to obtain that wasn’t found by police.

Frankly, a year isn’t nearly enough time in prison for this kind of thing.

While her status as a felon will keep her from purchasing new guns for other felons, it still is a case of her breaking the law to enable a violent individual to be even more violent.

Don’t get me wrong, I have little doubt he’d have found another way to obtain guns, it doesn’t matter. She knowingly broke the law to obtain guns for a violent felon who she knew intended more violence. So far as I’m concerned, she’s culpable. A year is a drop in the bucket.

The upside, though, is that at least she was caught and punished, so there’s that.