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Daly City Man Smuggled Firearms, Gets 20 Months
Elmer Ratunil Cuares, a 51-year-old Daly City resident, was sentenced to 20 months in prison for smuggling goods, including firearms, out of the United States, announced United States Attorney Alex G. Tse.
Cuares was found guilty of attempting to export several firearms to the Philippines without the proper license authorizing him to do so. According to his plea agreement, Cuares admitted to adding several firearms, including a Glock Model 42 .380 caliber handgun, one Ruger LC .380 caliber handgun, one STI .40 caliber handgun, and one Spikes Tactical M-4 assault rifle, to a shipping container that was destined for the Philippines in 2015.
Cuares took steps to conceal the presence of the firearms in the container, disassembling them and hiding the pieces inside of innocuous items. He also failed to obtain the necessary license to export the firearms, which is a violation of the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.
A federal grand jury indicted Cuares on September 14, 2017, charging him with three counts, including smuggling goods and concealing goods prior to exportation. Cuares pleaded guilty to the first charge, and the additional charges were dismissed following sentencing.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Lucy H. Koh ordered Cuares to serve a one-year term of supervised release to begin after he has served his prison term. Cuares will begin serving his sentence on November 28, 2018.
The prosecution is a result of a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement, San Jose Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Bostic is prosecuting the case.
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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