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Ex-Marine sentenced to 57 months in prison for selling night vision devices

Nelson Daranciang

 

A federal judge sentenced a former Kaneohe Marine who stole night vision devices from a Marine Base Hawaii armory to 57 months in prison today.

The judge ordered Ronald William Abram III to a second 57-month prison term for stealing an M-4 automatic rifle and selling it to another Marine. 

“It was known that the weapon was going to a drug dealer,” said Larry Butrick, assistant U.S. attorney.

Authorities have not recovered the firearm.

Abram and other Marines sold the night-vision gear to customers overseas on eBay.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra said Abram will serve both prison terms at the same time but ordered him to repay the government $1,329 for the rifle.

Abram is the second of three former Marines prosecuted in federal court for selling stolen military night vision devices to customers in Poland and Hong Kong in 2008 and attempting to sell more of them to another customer in Hong Kong. Ezra sentenced the first defendant last month to three years in prison. He is scheduled to sentence the third defendant next week.

The government agreed to dismiss charges against four other Marines to allow the Marine Corps to prosecuted them.

The stolen devices, ITT Nightquest PVS-14 Gen 3 Night Vision Monoculars, are controlled items under the International Trafficking in Arms Regulations and can only be exported by someone who is licensed and registered with the U.S. State Department.

 

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