Cops say legal starter pistols being turned into deadly weapons conversion, following, charged, members, turned, conversion, following, charged, members, turned

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Cops say legal starter pistols being turned into deadly weapons


Police say they are seeing a disturbing trend in which legal starter pistols used for track and field-type events are being converted into illegal and deadly handguns.

And following a five-month investigation into the illegal conversion of the guns, members of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) on Thursday announced they have charged the proprietor of a New Westminster army surplus store with a number of weapons-related offences.

CFSEU Supt. Tom McCluskie, who heads the unit’s gang task force, said they seized 49 converted guns from the New West location.

Westley Baker, 67, owner of Westley Military Surplus, in the 600-block Front Street, is charged with five counts of manufacturing or transferring firearms between Dec. 1, 2010, and Feb. 18, 2011. And he is facing a sixth count of altering, manufacturing or assembling an automatic firearm.

“Firearm and military surplus stores are put on notice that not only is the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit targeting individuals and groups involved in gang violence, but also those who perpetuate or support the violence through the illegal sale of ammunition, firearms or other activities,” said McCluskie.

Investigators warned that the converted weapons pose a serious risk to people who handle them. Firearm’s expert Const. Frank Grosspietsch said the guns could blow up in the shooter’s hand.

Grosspietsch said of particular concern was a machine-pistol they seized with the capacity to be an automatic or semi-automatic weapon. “The chance of this firearm blowing up in your face is significant,” he said.

A converted starter pistol could cost $300 while an authentic weapon could fetch about $2,000 in the underground market. The converted starter pistols have no serial numbers, making them virtually impossible to trace to a shooting.

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A starter pistol and other firearms were put on display during a Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit press conference March 2, 2011 in Delta. Police seized several starter pistols that were allegedly being converted into fully functioning firearms from Westley Military Surplus in New Westminster.