Man seeks to restore firearm rights

DAVENPORT — A local man is seeking to regain his firearm rights in court after they were revoked due to a crime committed nearly 20 years ago.

Wallace Elby Buck, 62, from Davenport, is scheduled for a hearing in Lincoln County Superior Court to restore his firearm rights.

Buck was convicted on January 18, 2008, of nine counts of second-degree unlawful possession of firearms.

He was found guilty of unlawfully possessing several firearms, including a Marlin 45 Auto Rifle, a Pardner model SB1 410 Gauge 3’ Full, a Savage model 11oe 20-60, a Marlin .22 Model CC550, a Mossberg 590 12 Gauge, two AK-47s, another AK and a Jennings J22 .22 Pistol.

Court records show that Buck was found not-guilty of the second-degree unlawful possession charge involving a 9mm MFG Germany with a Magazine.

On January 3, 2008, the testimony provided by Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Manke detailed a report of stolen firearms from Buck’s residence on Forest Road.

According to court documents, Deputy Manke interviewed Buck, who was asked whether he had recorded the serial numbers of the two firearms taken from his home.

Buck responded, “Of the whole page of firearms serial numbers I have written down, the AR-15 and Tech-9 are the only two I have not recorded.”

Buck also told Deputy Manke that he last saw his AR-15 while coyote hunting around July 7, 2008.

Buck outlined two reasons for his appeal in a letter to Superior Court Judge Jeffery Barkdull. First, he explained that he had pawned his wife’s rifle to obtain gas until payday.

When his wife attempted to repay the pawn shop to retrieve the rifle, the shop refused to release it due to Buck’s firearm restrictions.

Buck wrote, “They said I have to have a judge restore my gun rights before they can release it to her. It doesn’t seem right that she pays them back and then gets punished for something on my record from 20 years ago.”

Buck’s second reason for his appeal is to participate in a hunting trip with his three sons.

According to his letter, Buck has had to decline such trips in the past due to his firearm status.

“I would like to join them. I’ve had to always decline in the past because of the gun issue, so again, I am asking you to please restore my gun rights,” he wrote.