Undercover agents visited Richard Lee Wykel’s concealed weapons permit class with other students. The visit resulted in an arrest warrant for Wykel who is a former South Carolina Department of Corrections employee.

Law requires the class to be eight hours in length. This class was finished in one hour. The answers to the written questions were given before the test and there was no handgun qualification. The other students in Wykel's class could also face charges as well as his previous students.

SLED accuses concealed weapons permit instructor of not properly teaching class : News : CarolinaLive.com

He should be prosecuted and the NRA SHOULD STRIP HIS INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATIONS FOR LIFE.

Some people always try to put one over on the system. We had a incident in OHIO, the guy was selling documents at a gun show WITHOUT HOLDING CLASSES. He was caught and the Sheriff's in all 88 counties were notified to revoke all licenses that this person had signed paperwork for.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

This story really pulls my chain. I hope every student that took this class and did not report it gets more than their wrist slapped. I am afraid we are headed for an ugly incident by someone fully licensed with a fraudulent permit, I can hear the gun haters wailing now.

You can bet this isn't the only time this has happened.

Technically he can hold a class of any length, but if he says it qualifies as an 8 hour course as required by Carolina law, then that is illegal. If he signs a statement that he taught an 8 hour class, that is illegal. And the applicants, if they state they took an 8 hour class that is lying.

This guy is an idiot. Did he think he'd get away with this? I'm glad they busted him. I feel sorry for the applicants that paid their money thinking they'd get a real class and were cheated, but shame on those who sent in for their permit stating they had an 8 hour class.

Good job SLED! An instructor caught pulling that in Michigan would be guilty of a felony. I suspect South Carolina has a similar law.

I've instructed a number of NRA PPH classes and they generally run closer to 11 hours; you simply can't cover the material and shoot the range course of fire in less time. We're required to have a certified LEO or a State licensed attorney cover the legal portion of the class and they usually run way over their allotted time... they love to talk!

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"I also cook."

What the heck. If you can't follow the rules, hang em high.

James

Part of his punishment should be notifying all the people that took his class that have CCW permits, and telling them that their permit is no longer valid.

Agreed. And refund their money, then pay the money for them to take a real course, and compensate them for the additional time they need to devote to taking the new course.

I would be a rotten judge.

yup .. I'd burn the instructor in this case ... students though ... im not so certain where I stand on that. if they knew, then they wouldn't be his students. anyone who might have studied up before hand probably walked away in favor for something on the up and up.
my bet is a potential student who DID do some homework dropped a dime on him or there would not be undercover agents.
so we have some under trained permit holders ... who sought them for protection against less trained thugs. I lean towards leaving em alone as I think of it

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it just needs more voltage

An 8 hour course is brief enough. This man needs to refund every person that he stole from. Yes it was thievery. He not only broke the law; he didn't give those people what they paid for.

I still think anyone who obtained a CCW permit from his shortened classes should have their permit revoked, until they at least meet the state requirement. Agree with Lost Lake that Richard Lee Wykel should have to refund money paid for his course so that people can get real training.

It seems a lot of people want to vilify everyone who took this guys classes. I'm sure there are people who have actually sat through the whole 8 hours and did the firing line qualifications. I don't think they should just yank their permits and 'Hang Em High'!

I was involved in something similar but it was with CDL license road tests with a third party tester. About 4 months after I had passed this guys road test I get a letter from the WI DMV saying that this guy was busted for not doing everything he should have. They didn't give details of what he didn't do but he wasn't lax with me! I was informed I had to make an appointment to redo my road test within a certain amount of time. If I had not done it within that time limit (I think it was 30 or 60 days) they would suspend my license. There was no charge for the retest, other then my time.

But yeah my point is there are probably a whole lot of people that did everything they were supposed to do and the smart thing would be to have them retake any written and or live fire sessions within a certain amount of time but not to just yank their permits!

Mine was a 13 hour course inTexas that took more than 13. Why do some of the other states only do 8? hmm.

Ohio has 10 hours classroom and 2 hours range live fire.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

The Wisconsin law says you have to receive training. No set time at all. No test to pass or fail.

I don't think the second amendment says anything about taking a safety course prior to exercising your right to carry a weapon.

I support training, and am a safety instructor myself, but I do not agree it should be required. On the other hand I don't want just anyone to be able to buy a gun and stuff it in their pants having no idea how it works or how to keep safe handling it.

That's my conundrum!

I'd be leaning more along these lines. If there is a question about the certification, make them requalify, don't just strip them of the permit.

Markush, I didn't mean to vilify the people that took this instructors course and received CCW permits. The point I was trying to make is that they didn't receive the required training to make them eligible for a CCW permit, thus I believe they aren't eligible. Also still believe the original instructor should be required to pay for them to take a course that would make them eligible for the permit. So instead of revoking, they should have their permits suspended until the requirement is satisfied, once they can submit the certification from an actual course, then reinstate their permits.

Okay, no more mister nice guy!

Students in SC,when applying for their permit to carry, have to certify they took the 8-hour course and completed it successfully. So technically if they signed their application and sent it in, they lied. It's understandable that they may not have read the fine print, and relied on the instructor, but....

What's the problem? I teach private flying lessons. Anywhere else they're over $7,000 and take a full year. I do it for $1000 , you take a short yes/no test and get you your certificate in 10 days!

Another issue...why do we permit drivers to get a license with a brainless "Rules of the road" test and a drive around the block? We license the masses to drive a 3000 pound missle on our highways at 70 mph with very little training, yet scream that gun carriers must go through many days of classroom and range effort. Don't get me wrong...I'm all for PROPER training, but find the automobile vs. gun owners comparison totally inadequate on the vehicle side. Recently, I had a discussion with an "anti-gun" woman who thought guns were "deadly and should be banned." I asked her about cars and she replied. "Cars don't kill, it's the idiot drivers that cause the problems."

'Nuff said!

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Term limits!

Can't help but wonder if that lady ever realized she just defeated her own argument. Dealing with that 'type' can be funny, if it wasn't so frustrating.

I've been waiting for something like this to happen. About ten years ago, one had to look very hard to find an instructor and class for the SC CWP. Now, they seem to be everywhere. All of the instructor I have met and know are very above board and good instructors. The fellow that was busted by SLED has been an instructor since 1998 (I think) and I figure he just got lazy.

I'm with you on this argument.

First off let me say that I'm all for the proper training in the use of firearms, but having said that I wonder why its eight hours. My point is it's totally arbitrary, set up when the law was written by law makers who have no idea of how much time it would take and is based on nothing more than "eight hours sounds good."

I took my original hunter's safety course in the early 70's. I took it on a Saturday morning, with a bunch of other adolescent boys, and it took three or four hours. Flash forward twenty years when I retook it with my son. It was now a twelve hour course, there was no new information and there was a whole lot of filler and many breaks because, the fact is, there just isn't twelve hours worth of info to impart.

One hour is definitely too little but the if the goal is to teach people the law and how to carry firearms in a responsible manner, how much time should it really take?

It takes as much time as the reluctant nitwits in the state legislature who have never owned nor shot a gun before thinks it takes, in their opinion!

Time is one thing, WHAT IS WRITTEN INTO THE LAW "IS THE LAW PERIOD."

Obey it or suffer the consequences, LEO"S, ATTORNEYS, JUDGES, JURIES and APPELLATE COURTS don't deal with your opinions, the FACTS OF LAW COUNT.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

Exactly!

How long (and much $) is the training class to 'properly' exercise your First Amendment RIGHTS? And how much should the permit to voice your opinion or go to church cost?


That's how it was in Minnesota till 1975....no permit required. That's how it is right now in Vermont, Arizona, and Alaska.....is it a problem?

Keep in mind that training and/or permits aren't likely to be much of an obstacle to fools or criminals, they'll carry anyway.

While I seriously disagree with the training and permit requirements, I do agree that the 'instructor' was ripping off his students and should pay for it.

One difference (and I am a pilot and a driver) is that these two licenses require the applicant to pass a skills test. With the CCW permit, the training IS the test. Get the training and you get the permit.

The next difference is the scope of the permit. With a CCW permit, you are allowed to carry anywhere at all times. With many driving licenses you are restricted for a while to a limited number of passengers, limited night driving, etc.

A new pilot cannot fly IFR, Multi, HP, taildragger, Commercial, etc. So while I believe you can teach someone to fly in 10 hours, that pilot will not shoot an ILS at minimums into O'Hare the next day.

BTW, did you tell the woman that cars kill many times the number of people that guns do?