Man Indicted with Providing False Statements to Acquire 35 Guns
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a Maryland man with making false statements to acquire firearms.
According to allegations in the indictment, Juan Antonio Zimmerman, 26, of District Heights, purchased 35 firearms from federal firearms licensees in the Eastern District of Virginia falsely claiming that he was buying the firearms for himself when he was actually buying them on behalf of other individuals. Zimmerman used a false address in Arlington to purchase the firearms, then gave the firearms to his cousin, his cousin’s friends, and his uncle, who is a convicted felon. In addition to the firearm recovered from his uncle, law enforcement recovered two of the firearms in Prince George’s County, Maryland as part of criminal investigations.
Zimmerman is charged with making false statements to a federal firearms licensee with respect to the purchase of firearms. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison per count of conviction. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas U. Murphy II and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Trigger are prosecuting the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:19-cr-265.
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