Dealership co-owner had illegal guns, feds allege

Josey1

Dealership co-owner had illegal guns, feds allegeTruck owned by officer of Rocky's Autos seizedBy Hector Gutierrez, News Staff WriterA co-owner of Rocky's Autos converted semiautomatic guns to fully automatic weapons and possessed illegal firearms, federal authorities alleged in court documents made available Monday. A truck owned by Rocky's Autos in Westminster was seized from the home of John D. Rothrock in May. During a search of the truck, which was parked in Rothrock's garage, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms found numerous firearms, ammunition, night-vision goggles, body armor and knives, according to the complaint for the truck's forfeiture. The U.S. attorney's office alleged in documents filed in U.S. District Court that the truck was used to "conceal, transport, and possess a short-barreled rifle and fully automatic pistol." Short-barreled rifles and fully automatic handguns are illegal. Agents also alleged that Rothrock was the main driver and user of the confiscated truck. Inside Rothrock's home, agents discovered an illegal semiautomatic shotgun known as a "street sweeper," an unregistered Striker 12 shotgun and machine gun parts, the documents said. Authorities interviewed a man who said that Rothrock told him that he had owned the "street sweeper" for the last 15 years. Rothrock declined to talk about the case. "Your best bet is to call my attorney, Forest Lewis," Rothrock said when he reached at his home Monday. Lewis could not be reached for comment. Authorities described Rothrock as an officer and director of Rocky's Autos, 6350 Federal Blvd., and "upon information and belief" is a 49 percent shareholder of the used-auto business. The forfeiture complaint did not indicate that any charges have been filed against Rothrock. Investigators said a co-worker of Rothrock's told them he was with Rothrock when he bought dozens of firearms. The witness also told agents that earlier this year he saw Rothrock convert an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle to fully automatic. Further, the witness claimed he saw Rothrock in possession of a Steyr, Model SPP 9mm pistol that also had been converted to fully automatic, authorities said. Rothrock allegedly kept the gun with him wherever he went, according to the witness. Rothrock allegedly told the witness that the fully automatic guns would be simpler to sell to gang members. A Westminster gun store owner told agents that she met with Rothrock several times during a five-month period last year because he purchased out-of-state weapons through her business. Rothrock is alleged to have inadvertently left a message with her business saying he was going to pick up parts to convert semiautomatic AK-47 rifles to fully automatic, authorities said. The ATF said a search of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record revealed that no firearms were registered to Rothrock, making it illegal for him to possess any of the guns mentioned. October 30, 2001 http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_863187,00.html

Boomerang

Is there a point to this post? Maybe, "Don't do the crime if you can't pay the time!" Boomer

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