A federal grand jury indicted the couple in mid-April on one count of conspiring to sell guns without a license and another count of doing it. The indictment came two weeks after a detailed criminal complaint was filed in Baltimore's U.S. District Court outlining allegations that Papantonakis, with Heberle's help, sold more than a dozen guns in six transactions from September 2007 through March 2009 to two people who represented themselves as MS-13 gang members.
Papantonakis says he saw the men not as gang-bangers but as a longtime family friend and his buddy. The close friend, it turned out, was secretly acting as a confidential informant; the other one was the ATF agent. Papantonakis and his sister believe the friend set them up for personal reasons, which makes the court concerned they may exact revenge.
That, along with the threat against the Lexington Market manager, is keeping Papantonakis locked up before trial, despite a clean criminal history.
"He's a great guy, he's a wonderful person," his sister, Stella Papantonakis Tsourakis, said.
She's been running the Utz business while her brother has been incarcerated. But the manager, who did not return a call for comment, has promised to evict them by the end of the month.
An eviction hearing is set for May 12.
"I'm exhausted, I'm in pain," said Tsourakis, who is fighting metastatic breast cancer. "I can't even go back to my oncologist. I don't have the money."
Papantonakis admits to selling guns to help make ends meet.
At Supermax last week, his long, graying hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, his goatee blending into full beard growth. He wore a white T-shirt and complained of not having nail clippers or a proper razor. He said he's fastidious that way. He talked in energetic bursts, coming to life like a carnival robot before settling into silence between questions, his hands folded, his brown eyes downcast.
He spends his days writing letters now, to the mayor, to former city police commissioner and radio personality Ed Norris, to media. He keeps to himself, he said.
He and his sister will lose the Lewisberry, Pa., home they share unless someone steps forward to pay the mortgage, he said. The construction business he runs with some partners hasn't sold any homes yet.
He's a former bounty hunter and a biker, a member of the Chosen Sons motorcycle club.
Founded by police officers in the 1960s, the club drew attention last year when one of its members was killed in a confrontation with other officers. Now, Papantonakis said, detectives routinely grill him for information. Papantonakis said he has none to give.
Detectives also spent hours questioning him about a gun supplier, but he says he has none. He buys from local shows or shops. Without a bigger fish to fry, it's unlikely Papantonakis can get a plea deal. The Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, which is overseeing the case, declined to comment.
It could take months, if not years, for his case to go to trial.
