A federal judge recently denied an illegal immigrant’s request to have a gun charge dismissed after the illegal immigrant was found to have possession of roughly 170 guns in Ohio.
In last week’s ruling, Judge Edmund A. Sargus Jr. noted that Carlos Serrano-Restrepo was indicted earlier this year for “the possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States.” The charge came after Serrano-Restrepo had been living in the United States for over 15 years.
Sargus noted that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives started monitoring Serrano-Restrepo after the illegal immigrant purchased at least 22 firearms, filled out firearm paperwork numerous times, and claimed to be a U.S. citizen.
In January, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant at the illegal immigrant’s home in Ohio and seized “approximately 170 firearms, ammunition, and smoke/marine markers.” According to WSYX, Serrano-Restrepo had tens of thousands of ammunition rounds and smoke/marine markers in his home.
WSYX reported that federal agents took pictures of Serrano-Restrepo’s weapons, many of which were kept in various gun safes, while some of his handguns were mounted in closet holsters. Pictures shared on X, formerly Twitter, reveal some of the weapons that were seized at the illegal immigrant’s residence in Ohio.
According to court documents, Serrano-Restrepo relocated in 2022 from Arizona to Orient, Ohio. Serrano-Restrepo told the court that he illegally entered the United States in April of 2008 and that “some” of the guns in his possession were “for self-defense.”
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After the federal government’s execution of the search warrant against Serrano-Restrepo and a grand jury indictment against him in July, the illegal immigrant’s lawyer filed a motion to dismiss the illegal gun possession charge, claiming that the Second Amendment granted Serrano-Restrepo the right to bear arms.
In last week’s ruling, Sargus wrote that “disarming unlawful immigrants like Mr. Serrano-Restrepo who have not sworn allegiance to the United States comports with the Nation’s history and tradition of firearm regulations.”
“Mr. Serrano-Restrepo’s as-applied challenge lacks merit,” Sargus added. “The swearing of an oath of allegiance occurs through the naturalization process, not through his asylum application or his years of living in the United States.”
Following last week’s ruling by Sargus, Serrano-Restrepo’s trial is expected to begin on January 21, 2025.
