3 plead guilty to falsifying Ohio weapons permits

Three central Ohio men will serve three years on probation after admitting they falsified concealed-carry weapons training certificates, leading to the invalidation of hundreds of state licenses.

 

   Franklin County sheriff's deputies arrested the men over the summer. Authorities said the men had issued falsified training certificates to several hundred people with concealed-carry licenses. 

 

   Franklin County Chief Deputy Marty Buechner told The Columbus Dispatch that about 300 recipients turned in their licenses after they were notified of the problems. About 200 people were issued new licenses after receiving the proper training, and others did not seek new licenses or haven't finished the training, he said.

 

   Pleading guilty to five counts of falsification to obtain a concealed handgun license were Adam M. Chaykin, 42; Ken E. Fouch, 48; and John M. Marshall, 63. All were also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and complete 100 hours of community service.

 

   Investigators said Marshall, a certified firearms instructor who worked in private security, sold signed training certificates to Chaykin and Fouch.

 

   Chaykin and Fouch, who were not trained firearms teachers, conducted sessions that fell far short of the required training, which includes at least 10 hours of class time and two hours of range time, investigators said. In some cases, they conducted no training at all but provided the certificates for $200 to $300.

 

   Defense attorneys said the men were previously law-abiding citizens who used bad judgment.