A former US Army member has been convicted of smuggling firearms to the Dominican Republic. Katherine O’Neal, a resident of Colorado, was found guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. § 554(a), which prohibits smuggling goods from the United States.
The crime was committed in June 2015, when O’Neal made a trip to the Dominican Republic with 11 firearms in her luggage. She declared the firearms to the airline, but did not obtain the required State Department export license. When her bags arrived, Dominican Republic officials noticed the handguns during an examination of the baggage. O’Neal was arrested when she arrived at the airport to claim her luggage.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, as well as the Dominican Republic, where charges are pending her extradition to that country.
O’Neal will be sentenced in August 2018. She was acquitted on other counts alleging false information on firearm purchase forms and money laundering.
The case is captioned United States of America v. Katherine O’Neal, Case No. 15-cr-0353-WJM. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Brown and Kurt Bohn are prosecuting this matter for the United States.
According to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, O’Neal made multiple trips to the Dominican Republic shortly after purchasing firearms in Denver and Colorado Springs. The Dominican Republic has a ban on all imported firearms.
O’Neal’s conviction is a significant blow to international arms trafficking. The case highlights the importance of complying with export regulations and the consequences of violating them.
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Category: Weapons
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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