Two of four arrested in federal raids bought guns from Iowa City store

IOWA CITY - Two of the four suspects arrested Tuesday during a federal weapons raid bought guns from an Iowa City store.

One of the owners of Ammo Bearer, 232 Stevens Drive, said two of the male suspects purchased nearly ten handguns from his shop between January and July 2014.

'They had a wad of cash,” said Michael Gerot, co-owner of Ammo Bearer. 'The guns that they bought were expensive, but they're not something somebody carries around all the time.”

The four arrested, 50-year-old Ali Herz, 29-year-old Bassem Herz, 22-year-old Adam Herz and 24-year-old Sarah Zeaiter, are each charged with conspiracy and delivering a package to a carrier without notice it contained firearms and ammunition. Federal authorities say the group plotted to hide supplies of weapons and bullets bound for Beirut, Lebanon among boxes of goods collected in a clothing drive.

Although Gerot is not the informant mentioned in the federal indictment, he said the purchases did set of warning bells for him. Gerot said the two called in advance of their first purchase and asked to special order two guns costing about $1,500 each.

'I wondered why they were special ordering guns from me when how many gun dealers are there in Cedar Rapids?” he said.

He also said both men had the proper permits and paperwork, and purchased the pistols legally. But he listed several warning signs gun dealers look for to flag suspicious sales.

'One is one talking to another person and they point at the gun and the other person buys it,” Gerot said.

Gerot said that's called a straw purchase and happens when a customer buys a weapon with the intention of giving it to someone else. Paying with a stack of cash is also a signal, and Gerot said the two suspects paid for each weapon exclusively with cash.

He said while all dealers work to keep bad people from purchasing guns, sometimes weapons still end up in the wrong hands.

'It happens I guess,” he said. 'Unfortunately you can't stop everything.”