Scott Everett Coyl, Unlicensed Firearms Sales, California 2024

Riverside, CA – A Redlands man has been arrested and charged with selling AR-style rifles without a license, according to federal authorities.

Scott Everett Coyl, 28, of Redlands, was arrested without incident at his residence yesterday morning, following a complaint filed on Wednesday. Coyl was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint filed in federal court that charges him with dealing firearms without a license.

Following his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in United States District Court, Coyl was freed on a $20,000 bond.

In conjunction with Coyl’s arrest, special agents from the Los Angeles Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with officers from the Redlands Police Department, seized from Coyl’s residence approximately 40 firearms, including three machine guns and eight silencers. They also seized more than 100 high-capacity magazines and ammunition.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, over the past three weeks, Coyl unlawfully sold five .223-caliber AR-type rifles – with no make or model markings, and no visible serial number – to a person he believed was a convicted felon. The purchaser of the rifles told Coyl he had a criminal record and he was buying rifles in order to send them to Mexico to be used in shootings. Despite learning this information, Coyl continued selling firearms to the individual.

The affidavit alleges Coyl built AR-type rifles from unfinished lower receivers, machining out the lower receiver, then adding parts to make a complete firearm. Coyl sold firearms out of the garage in his residence. Coyl told the person he thought was a convicted felon that he could manufacture and sell fully automatic rifles, according to the complaint.

If convicted of the charge of dealing firearms without a license, Coyl would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. A preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 13 and an arraignment on April 19.

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