Story from 2018
Sacramento gun case tossed over allegations ATF agent is part of corrupt cop scandal in Baltimore
Federal prosecutors in Sacramento have spent years targeting suspects selling rifles and automatic weapons illegally, and on Sept. 19 they filed a criminal complaint against four men charging them with conspiracy to deal firearms without a license and to transfer a machine gun.
The case stemmed from an undercover operation in which the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spent more than $138,000 to buy 45 firearms and devices used to build “ghost guns,” untraceable assault-style rifles, according to an affidavit from ATF Special Agent Matthew C. Ryckman.
Then, three weeks later, prosecutors asked U.S. Magistrate Kendall J. Newman to dismiss the charges and close the case “in the interests of justice.”
No further explanation was given, and the case, which has become known to Sacramento-area lawyers as “the Caldwell case” because of the names of two defendants, was ordered closed on Oct. 5.
Now, federal sources confirm the case was dropped because of allegations against Ryckman in a corruption probe into activities of officers in the Baltimore Police Department, where Ryckman, 32, spent eight years as a patrol officer, SWAT team member and detective.
Ryckman, who could not be reached for comment, has not been charged with any wrongdoing and is not suspected of any improper behavior while an ATF agent in California, a source said.
But the Baltimore Sun, as part of an ongoing investigation into police corruption there, reported Thursday that Ryckman worked in a squad with another officer in Baltimore who has admitted to drug dealing, robberies and other crimes and is serving a 25-year sentence.
A law enforcement source said prosecutors and FBI agents from Baltimore interviewed Ryckman in Sacramento weeks ago and now are investigating his activities in Maryland.
The allegations against him in the Baltimore case led the U.S. Attorney’s in Sacramento to dismiss the gun case he spearheaded here, a source said, one of five cases in California affected by his involvement.
The remaining four cases were reviewed and prosecutors decided they could proceed because Ryckman’s involvement was not as extensive as in the one that was dismissed, one law enforcement source told The Bee.
Federal prosecutors notified defense attorneys in those cases of the issue, the source added, and they are now looking into Ryckman’s involvement with their clients.
https://www.sacbee.com/latest-news/article222794950.html