Former Iowa police chief sentenced to 5 years in prison in federal gun case

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former small-town Iowa police chief has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for lying to authorities to acquire machine guns that prosecutors say he sold for his own profit. Former Adair Police Chief Brad Wendt was convicted in February of making false statements to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, conspiring to do so and illegally possession a machine gun. KCCI-TV reports that he was sentenced Monday. Authorities say Wendt bought machine guns for the police department, then sold them for an almost $80,000 personal profit. Wendt’s attorney, Nicholas Klinefeldt, says the jury convicted Wendt based on erroneous jury instructions and that an appeal is planned.