Marcos D. Guzman, Gun Store Burglary, New York 2018

Rochester Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Gun Store Burglary and Lying About Military Medals

A Rochester man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a 2018 gun store burglary and for lying about his military service, including claiming to have received two Purple Hearts.

Marcos D. Guzman, 36, of Rochester, NY, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford for his conviction on charges of theft of firearms from a Federal Firearms Licensee, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and fraudulent representations about the receipt of military medals.

Guzman was also ordered to pay $41,500 in restitution to August Chinappi, the former owner of Chinappi’s Firearms & Supplies, a gun store on West Ridge Road in Spencerport, NY.

According to court documents, Guzman and his co-defendants, Dakota Sarfaty and Luis D. Marcano-Agosto, broke into Chinappi’s Firearms & Supplies in the early morning hours of August 16, 2018, and stole approximately 87 firearms, most of which were handguns. Many of the firearms were sold on the streets of Rochester.

Guzman pleaded guilty in April 2019 for his role in the gun store burglary. However, he then lied to the U.S. Probation Office about his military service, claiming to have served in the United States National Guard, been deployed to Iraq for 18 months, and received two Purple Hearts for saving another soldier on the battlefield in Iraq. He provided fake photographs of the Purple Heart certificates to the U.S. Probation Office.

Co-defendants Dakota Sarfaty and Luis D. Marcano-Agosto were previously convicted for their roles in the gun store burglary. Sarfaty was sentenced to serve 175 months in prison, while Marcano-Agosto is awaiting sentencing.

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, the Rochester Police Department, the VA Office of Inspector General, and the Yates County Sheriff’s Office.

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