HANOVER, N.Y. (AP) -- Authorities say a western New York man is the first person to be charged with violating the state's gun-control law.
State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says 32-year-old Benjamin Wassell of Silver Creek was charged Thursday with felonies related to the sale of illegal weapons.
Schneiderman says he twice sold weapons that are prohibited under the New York Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement Act, passed by the Legislature in mid-January. Officials say the violations occurred later that month and again in February in the Chautauqua County town of Hanover, 30 miles southwest of Buffalo.
Prosecutors say the sales involved two semi-automatic rifles and more than 300 rounds of ammunition.
Wassell was released on his own recognizance. Prosecutors said he didn't have an attorney.
