Judge denies federal prosecutors' request for extension in filing new Krop indictment

U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher on Friday denied federal prosecutors’ request for additional time to file a new indictment against Robert Krop, whose case was dropped earlier this month after the court agreed that his right to a speedy trial had been violated.

Krop, a co-owner of The Machine Gun Nest, was indicted alongside Frederick County Sheriff Chuck Jenkins in April 2023 after federal prosecutors alleged the two made false statements as part of a conspiracy to help Krop illegally obtain machine guns.

Krop had also been charged with illegally possessing the machine guns Jenkins allegedly helped him acquire. Both men pleaded not guilty.

On May 3, Gallagher dismissed without prejudice the indictment against Krop, ordering federal prosecutors to either refile the charges or notify the court that the government did not intend to do so within three weeks of her ruling.

On Tuesday, prosecutors sent a letter to Gallagher asking for a one-week extension. The government wrote that pushing the deadline from May 24 to May 30 would provide “sufficient time to properly evaluate the matter.”

In the letter, prosecutors noted that Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Goo, the lead counsel for the government in Krop’s case, had been in trial for an unrelated case since May 13.

Assistant U.S. Attorney P. Michael Cunningham, who is also representing the government in the case, wrote that he was in the midst of preparing for an unrelated trial.

On Thursday, Krop’s attorney, Dan Cox, sent a separate letter to the judge objecting to the government’s request for an extension.

In that letter, Cox wrote that local court rules require that any request to reconsider a judge’s order be filed within two weeks after entry of the order. In this instance, the government waited 18 days.

Local court rules also require that any request to reconsider be filed in the form of a motion, Cox wrote, but the government instead filed a “prejudicial and late letter.”

“Having spent over two weeks and nearly five days of the Ordered three-week deadline, the government may not now claim that it has not had appropriate time provided by this Court,” Cox wrote.

In her order on Friday, Gallagher agreed with Cox’s argument, writing that “no motion has been made by the government” and denying prosecutors’ “informal request” for a one-week extension.

“The fact that the Assistant United States Attorneys Assigned to this case had trial obligations in other cases would have been well-known as of the entry of this Court’s order,” Gallagher wrote. “Other arrangements could have been made to ensure compliance with the three week timetable.”

PASSPORT RETURNEDIn a separate order on Friday, Gallagher granted a motion filed on Krop’s behalf asking that seized assets, including his passport, be returned by the court.

In a filing on Friday, prosecutors wrote that the government did not oppose the return of Krop’s passport. However, the government urged the court not to return firearms and other items seized from Krop and his business.

The government wrote that firearms and other seized items were considered evidence in the case against Jenkins, as well as evidence in a potential new case against Krop.

“With regard to the charges that were dismissed by this Court without prejudice, the government intends to seek a new indictment against Krop, and remains hopeful a trial can still proceed as previously scheduled,” prosecutors wrote.

Gallagher did not address the firearms and other seized items in her motion granting Krop’s request for the return of his passport.

Krop’s eight-day trial had been scheduled to begin on Oct. 15. Jenkins’ trial is expected to take seven days beginning on Jan. 27, 2025.

Cox could not immediately be reached for comment on Gallagher’s orders on Friday afternoon.

Angelina Thompson, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland, said she could not provide any information on the case beyond what is publicly available through court filings when reached by phone on Friday.