Christian Castro, Gun Theft & False Statements, Massachusetts 2021

A 31-year-old Connecticut man has pleaded guilty to stealing 17 firearms from a West Springfield gun shop and making false statements to federal agents.

Christian Castro, of New Britain, Conn., pleaded guilty to one count each of theft of firearm from a Federal Firearms Licensee; being a felon in possession of firearm; interstate transportation of a stolen firearm; receipt, possession, concealment, storage, barter, sale, or disposition of a stolen firearm in interstate commerce; and making false statements to a federal official.

The charges against Castro stem from a crime spree in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts in August 2020, during which he and co-defendant Fernando Rivera, who pleaded guilty on May 5, 2021 and is pending sentencing, committed seven ATM thefts or attempted thefts and stole 17 firearms from a federal firearms licensee in West Springfield, Mass.

On September 18, 2020, federal agents arrested Rivera and Castro at their homes in Connecticut. During interviews with investigators Castro admitted that he drove to and from several ATM robberies and the gun store robbery, but falsely stated he never received, kept or even touched any of the stolen guns.

During a search of Rivera’s phone investigators identified several photographs and videos depicting Rivera (and Castro in one instance) with many of the stolen firearms. A forensic extraction of the defendants’ phones allegedly revealed communications indicating that on September 4, 2020, Rivera discovered that he was a suspect in the thefts and then traveled with Castro to New York to sell at least three of the firearms.

Castro is scheduled to be sentenced on September 23, 2021. The firearms charges each provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of making false statements provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell and Kelly D. Brady, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; Springfield, Hadley, West Springfield, New Britain (Conn.) and Middletown (Conn.) Police Departments; Connecticut State Police; Connecticut Department of Correction; and Connecticut Judicial Branch Adult Probation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of Mendell’s Springfield Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/connecticut-man-pleads-guilty-stolen-firearms-offenses-and-making-false-statements-0