Photo provided The indictment contains an image of the trunk nearly completely full with guns, including an assault rifle, and a list of 141 weapons that authorities said they seized from the North Vernon suspect.
JENNINGS COUNTY — A federal judge has postponed the criminal trial of a Jennings County man who has been accused of selling hundreds of thousands of dollars in guns without a license to two individuals who allegedly arranged to transport them to Mexico.
David Joseph Mull, 51, of North Vernon, and his attorney, Guy Relford, asked the judge earlier this week to postpone the trial because they needed more time to “investigate and research the complex factual and legal basis for the government’s allegations” to prepare for a criminal trial or evaluate any plea agreement that the federal government may offer. The U.S. government did not object to postponing the trial.
U.S. District Judge James R. Sweeney II on Thursday set a new trial date of Feb. 26, according to records filed in U.S. District Court in Indianapolis. The trial was initially set to start Aug. 31.
The ruling comes about two weeks after U.S. Department of Justice announced that a federal grand jury had indicted Mull on one count of dealing firearms without a license, which carries a potential prison sentence of up to five years, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
“The ends of justice are best served by allowing the defendant and his counsel sufficient time to investigate and research the numerous allegations against defendant as set forth in the indictment so as to adequately prepare for trial,” according to the request, which was filed Tuesday in federal court.
For more on this story, see Saturday’s Republic.
