The State - News from Sept. 25, 1985
An Australian fugitive who operated a gun shop in Kern County under a false name was sentenced to five years in federal prison for possession of an unregistered machine gun. U.S. District Judge Edward D. Price in Fresno also recommended that Rodney William Murdoch, 37, be deported on release from prison. He pleaded guilty to possessing a Colt AR-15 carbine after he was indicted on 15 counts, including a charge that he was an illegal alien in possession of 29 rifles, revolvers and pistols. In his statement to federal agents, Murdoch said he fled Australia with four false passports in 1978 after he was charged with heroin possession.
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