New Orleans Sportscaster Charged in Wife's Death

While the legal maneuverings were going on, Federal agents on May 16 swooped in on Elliot's Small Arms in Jefferson, LA, the store where Marinello had bought his gun, seizing a vast cache of arms and ammunition and arresting the owners and an employee. As the agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives hauled away the store's inventory, some chilling figures were released by the agency as the reason for the raid. Between March 1, 2002 and March 7, 2007, about 2,300 firearms had been sold there, including weapons allegedly used in 127 murders and 517 drug-related crimes.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seal

In addition, according to news reports, weapons had been sold illegally to intermediaries on behalf of convicted felons. These "straw sales" were confirmed by former store employees, along with other allegedly illegal business dealings, including forgery. The owners were accused of falsifying police officer credentials to buy arms at manufacturers' discounts and selling the guns at regular prices.

The ATFE issued a statement shortly after the raid, calling the gun shop "a hole in the wall" and a "bottomless pit." Arrested were the store's owner, Hermann Eicke III, previous owner Timothy Harris Sr., as well as store clerk Rebecca Zitzmann.

Shortly after the raid, the signs on the side of the converted auto repair garage disappeared, and the shop, at the busy intersection of Jefferson Highway (U.S. 90) and Causeway Boulevard appeared to be permanently shuttered.