According to an 82-page
affidavit, the informant was wearing an audio recording device when
he asked an employee about purchasing a shotgun. The informant questioned
the clerk as to what he needed to do to buy a firearm, and the clerk
allegedly told informant that he needed to fill out some paperwork,
have a California driver’s license and then wait 10 days.
The informant then explained to the clerk that he had a felony conviction
approximately six or seven years ago, and was advised by the clerk
that the felony never “comes off," and that a felony “stays
on you forever,” according to the affidavit. The clerk then
said, “So, with a felony you can’t buy it.”
The informant then asked what other options he had, and the clerk
allegedly responded, “Legally you can’t buy a handgun
or a rifle. A felony stays against you for life.”
According to the affidavit, the informant then asked if he could "bring
in someone like his girlfriend," to which the clerk allegedly
replied, “Personally I can’t know that. If someone else
wants to come in here and buy a gun, I can sell them a gun if they
have all the paperwork.”
In the affidavit, FTA Special Agent Rusk, who interviewed the informant
after he left the store, said the female clerk was excessively winking
at the informant during this portion of the conversation.
“If she wanted to purchase a gun, then yes, I could sell her
a gun,” the clerk allegedly said.
“Okay, I just gotta bring her with me right?” the informant
asked.
(The clerk) answered, “No. Listen to my words. I cannot sell
you a gun. I can sell her a gun.” (The informant) said, “Okay,
I understand. So she has to come alone.” (The clerk) said, “She
has to come in alone. Legally for me to know that she is going to
buy it for you is really bad. So she can come in and I can sell her
a gun.”
Authorities said the informant, along with a female FTA agent who
posed as his girlfriend, returned Feb. 15, and the agent purchased
the Norinco, Model 372, 12-gauge shotgun.after filling out the required
paperwork. On March 2, after the mandatory waiting period, they returned,
and the undercover agent presented the receipt. The informant, again
wearing an audio recording device, and his "girlfriend"
ultimately left with the shotgun.
According to the affidavit, confidential informants with prior felony
convictions, and undercover law enforcement officers posing as straw
buyers for these informants, were able to purchase 14 firearms from
Boulevard Sales & Service in Compton and Oak View. Those weapons
included a Hi-Point Model CF 380 .380-caliber handgun; a Glock Model
30 .45-caliber, semi-automatic pistol; a Bushmaster, Model Carbon-15,
.223-caliber, semi-automatic rifle; a Mossberg, Model 500A, 12-gauge,
pump-action shotgun, and a Mossberg, Model 100 ATR, 30-06 caliber,
bolt-action rifle with scope. The informants allegedly were also able
to purchase large quantities of ammunition, including three cases
of bullets used in AK-47-type rifles.
Virgilio is reportedly the son of the owners of the notorious Compton
store, and Castellanos is an employee. Virgilio and Castellanos are
each charged in a criminal complaint with one count of sale of ammunition
to a felon. No arrests have been made locally.
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