What did Charles Austin Jenkins do? Frederick County sheriff accused in conspiracy to obtain illegal machine guns

Frederick County Sheriff Charles Austin Jenkins, 66, and a Maryland gun shop owner have been indicted on charges of conspiracy and false statements to acquire and rent machine guns. The gun shop owner, Robert Justin Krop, 36, is charged with illegal possession of machine guns, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release.Erek L. Barron, the United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Toni M. Crosby, the special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Baltimore Field Division, announced the charges against the accused.If convicted, the Federick County Sheriff and Krop could face up to five years in federal prison for conspiracy, false statements in records maintained by a federal firearms licensee, and false statements to federal law enforcement.The DOJ press release also stated that Krop could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for unlawful possession of a machine gun.Charles Austin Jenkins has been serving as Federick County Sheriff for over a decadeSince 2006, Charles Austin Jenkins has been the Sheriff of Frederick County. After serving for more than a decade, he was re-elected in 2022. Robert Krop, the other person accused in the case, owns and runs gun-related businesses in Frederick County, an indoor gun range called &quot;The Machine Gun Nest,&quot; as per The Baltimore Banner.Krop and his businesses had up to two Federal Firearms Licenses (&quot;FFLs&quot;) that allowed the possession and option to deal in machine guns, but only under specific circumstances.Chuck Jenkins served as Federick County Sheriff for over a decade (Image via Getty)However, Charles Austin Jenkins and Krop reportedly rented machine guns to people for money. Moreover, the indictment alleged that Krop illegally possessed seven machine guns and that his business offered Charles Austin Jenkins political support for the latter's help in the industry.Emily@arrghrealpirate@shannonrwatts not surprised at all that the owner of local business the machine gun nest is involved.8@shannonrwatts not surprised at all that the owner of local business the machine gun nest is involved.An excerpt from an email in May 2022 from the Machine Gun Nest's CEO to the Sheriff read:&quot;I am reaching out in hopes to set up a meeting with you to discuss the upcoming election cycle and talk about what we can do to support your re-election as sheriff in Frederick.&quot;The six-count indictment also stated:&quot;From August 2015 to May 2022, Jenkins and Krop conspired to unlawfully purchase machineguns and falsified multiple documents on the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office letterhead requesting machine guns for evaluation and demonstration to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office.&quot;The DOJ further alleges that Charles Austin Jenkins and Krop knew there would not be a demonstration of the machine guns to the Sheriff's Office and that those guns would be rented to Krop's customers.CanDo@Candice_Camden@nbcwashington not surprised..... machine guns in exchange for political support. Unreal.1@nbcwashington not surprised..... machine guns in exchange for political support. Unreal.The Machine Gun Nest reportedly made over $100,000 in profits from machine gun rentals in 2018 and 2019, according to the indictment.&quot;Jenkins has no plans to step down,&quot; says Federick County Sheriff's OfficeA spokesperson for the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office said Charles Austin Jenkins was not looking to quit his job as Sheriff as &quot;he feels he can still do the job.&quot; This comes after a federal grand jury indicted him and an arms dealer, Robert Krop, of illegally acquiring machine guns, in a report by The Baltimore Banner.Tara@TaraDactyl718@shannonrwatts After the @FredCoSheriff press conference today, the office admits Chuck knew he was under investigation for the last year which means he knew during his election last November. Frederick deserves honesty. He ain’t it.193@shannonrwatts After the @FredCoSheriff press conference today, the office admits Chuck knew he was under investigation for the last year which means he knew during his election last November. Frederick deserves honesty. He ain’t it.Addressing a press conference, Todd Wivell, spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office, said:&quot;Jenkins has known he was under investigation for more than a year and was fully cooperating, but the indictment came as a surprise to the rest of the agency.&quot;Addressing the reporters at the press conference, Wivell said, &quot;We still believe in him.&quot;Taya M Graham (reporter) (and trekker)@tayasbaltimore@justin_fenton &quot;I will continue to serve as this plays out...&quot; How many of us would continue to have paid employment while the federal government was investigating us and then formally indicted?🤔@justin_fenton &quot;I will continue to serve as this plays out...&quot; How many of us would continue to have paid employment while the federal government was investigating us and then formally indicted?🤔So far, no court appearances have been scheduled for the defendants, according to a Department of Justice press release.

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