The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office has opened an investigation into New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit group that planned a gun buyback in the community.

Sheriff Shane Ferrari said after the buyback was canceled by the city of Farmington, the nonprofit came to Farmington on Dec. 16 and collected unwanted guns, despite the buyback being canceled.

“They came here by themselves with no law enforcement, and did it anyway. It’s the citizens that brought this to my attention, and we’re looking into it,” Ferrari said.

Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe said he was not investigating New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence, because he referred a few citizens to their website.

“We had people who contacted us when they canceled the buyback who had guns they wanted to dispose of,” Hebbe said. “I know they had four people that reached out. We had five or six that contacted us that were unhappy that we canceled it.”

Hebbe said he was aware that the organization was going to “four different residences to cut up their guns.”

New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence posted on their Facebook page that they were in Farmington on Dec. 16.

“Our gun buyback was canceled by the city, but local residents asked us to show up anyway. So, we spent today dismantling guns house by house.”

The post included a photograph of several guns that were cut in half, which Ferrari also said could be a problem. “Federal law says the gun needs to be cut in three pieces,” he said.

Ferrari added he needs to know whether the guns “were destroyed in the driveway of the house or were they destroyed in another location?”

“Everything was completely chopped,” said Miranda Viscoli, co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence. “And in fact, now it is going to an artist in Albuquerque, who is making artwork out of it. There’s nothing any part of those firearms will ever be used again.”

Ferrari also questioned whether New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence could be in violation of 2021 NM Statute Chapter 30, Criminal Offenses Article 7, Weapons and Explosives Section 30-7-7.1, regarding the unlawful sale of a firearm without a background check.

Under this statute, a firearm can only be sold for consideration to “a person who holds a current and valid federal firearms license issued pursuant to 18 U.S.C Section 923,” law enforcement or a family member.

Under the law, “consideration means anything of value exchanged between the parties to a sale.” Ferrari pointed out the gift cards provided by New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence for the gun buyback, fall under this rule in the statute.

“No gun was surrendered. We never left any homes with a firearm. We left homes with destroyed firearms, which are essentially wood, metal and plastic. That’s what we left with,” Viscoli said.

She added that her organization did not violate the background check law, which New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence helped write.

“If we had left a home with a working firearm, yes, that would have gone against the background check law. When you dismantle a gun on site with the owner of the gun watching, that does not go against the background check law,” Viscoli said.

“I understand they are buying the guns – they are enticing people to come up there because they are giving them gift cards,” Ferrari said.

Viscoli said the majority of the people in Farmington “didn’t want a gift card.” Further, the gift cards are provided after the guns are destroyed, she said; “That is 100% legal.”

“We are destroying them in front of the person, and we’re also giving gift cards that aren’t even close to how much the gun is worth,” Viscoli said. “It’s a thank-you for participating and making our community safer.”

Viscoli also pointed out that her organization has done 18 buybacks “with law enforcement watching us give out gift cards and dismantle guns. … Nobody’s doing a background check on us every time somebody pulls up,” she said.

She said she wished the “sheriff could see the relief on these people’s faces that they no longer had to worry about this firearm.”

“Maybe he would think twice about rallying up his troops against a nonprofit keeping his community safer from gun violence,” Viscoli said.

Ferrari said he has contacted other county and state officials.

“Both the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office and the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office are reviewing my assessment,” Ferrari said.

The Tri-City Record asked the New Mexico Attorney General’s Office for a legal opinion concerning the statute and New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence’s buyback program, and was told by Communications Director Lauren Rodriguez that “legal opinions must be requested by a state official.”

The Tri-City Record then asked whether this matter might be something that would be investigated by the Attorney General’s Office should someone such as Sheriff Shane Ferrari request an opinion.

“I guess I'm not sure what your question is specifically as I know New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence has all the firearms that are relinquished dismantled immediately, on site, and that all guns are run through National Crime Information Center,” Rodriguez said.

The Tri-City Record asked again whether the buybacks were legal without a federal firearms license. Further, the newspaper asked whether the group could face a charge of tampering with evidence if a gun was later determined to have been involved in a felony crime.

The AG’s office did not respond to those questions, but Ferrari said the San Juan County District Attorney’s Office and the state Attorney General’s Office were reviewing his assessment.

San Juan County Chief Deputy District Attorney Dustin O’Brien said his office was aware of the matter.

“We recognize this issue and have been doing research and are now looking at other states that have similar laws and programs,” O’Brien said.

The Tri-City Record also reached out to state Sen. Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, who said he had already contacted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. “In this particular case, they (New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence) have a special privilege because of who they are,” Sharer said.

Ferrari, however, said he doesn’t “think they’re doing them (buybacks) lawfully both by state or federal law.”

“It’s getting to be my impression, that they are a large voice in these gun regulation bills, so they think they don’t apply to them, and they do,” he said. “They need to stop what they are doing. They have to follow the law like everyone else.”

Ferrari said he received a call from a Bernalillo County lawmaker who was concerned that the organization “chopped up a short-barrel rifle, and there has to be paperwork to the federal government saying it has been destroyed. You have to have a Class 3 license to have it.”

Viscoli said she has chopped up more than 2,000 guns, and in Farmington there were nine hunting rifles.

“I find it curious that there’s so much anger about nine firearms that were dismantled in Farmington, but nobody's talking about the real problem is gun violence in Farmington and San Juan County. And nobody’s talking about the high rates of suicide with the majority of firearms in San Juan County and in Farmington. We’re talking about nine firearms were destroyed.”

Viscoli added that 40% of the firearms destroyed by her organization have been semi-automatics and assault weapons. “And yet suddenly it’s these nine firearms that get everybody's holsters in a twist.”

The Tri-City Record also asked Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office for comments, and was told her office would sponsor a gun buyback on Jan. 6 in cooperation with the New Mexico State Police.

New Mexico State Police Lt. Phil Vargas confirmed this, saying a location has yet to be selected for the buyback. He also stated that the agency enters the gun’s serial number into NCIC to see whether they are stolen. If they are, “we will get it back to the agency as evidence as part of their case.”

Vargas also said the firearms collected are considered unwanted property so they can be destroyed. “We don’t need a court order to do that,” because “if it’s unwanted property you can just destroy it.”

If a weapon might have been used in a crime, the State Police runs it through their NIBIN program, which checks bullet markings against other bullets used in crimes. If guns are destroyed, the State Police cannot test bullet markings.

Vargas said the State Police has run other gun buybacks in the state, and “there was a lot of participation.”