LOS ANGELES — A California man was arrested May 6 on a criminal complaint alleging he illegally possessed dozens of firearms at his home.
Gabriel Baez Jr., 34, of South El Monte, was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Police Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on a federal criminal complaint alleging he violated U.S. firearms law. Baez was scheduled to make his initial appearance May 6 in the U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
During a search of Baez’s residence, investigators seized more than 60 firearms, including 10 short-barreled rifles; suspected firearm silencers; suspected auto sears and Glock switches; over 110 high-capacity rifle and pistol magazines; and evidence of firearms manufacturing, such as lower and upper receivers for AR-style firearms and jigs for finishing firearms receivers.
Auto sears and Glock switches are devices designed and intended solely and exclusively to turn a semiautomatic firearm into a weapon capable of fully automatic fire — that is, capable of firing more than one round of ammunition, without manual reloading, by a single pull of the trigger.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The charge of possession of an unregistered firearm carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is prosecuting this case.
Anyone with information regarding the transportation or sale of illegal weapons is encouraged to call the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.
Learn more about HSI’s mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSILosAngeles.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents the Department of Homeland Security’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement .