Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Former Gun Store Owner Heads to Prison for Firearms Violation
~~VICTORIA, Texas – Garrett Vincent Riedesel, 24, of Victoria, has been sentenced for his conviction of one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Riedesel, a federal firearms licensee who owned Garrett’s Gun Vault in Victoria, pleaded guilty July 8, 2014. The store is now closed.
Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Riedesel a total sentence of 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release.
At the time of his plea, Riedesel admitted he was in possession of a Remington Model 870, 12-gauge shotgun which had a barrel length of more than seven inches and an overall length of nearly 15 inches. A check of the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) revealed that the firearm was not registered to Riedesel.
The investigation began after customers reported having trouble retrieving firearms that had been dropped off at Riedesel’s establishment for repair.
On March 13, 2014, a federal search warrant was executed at Garrett’s Gun Vault in Victoria. At that time, agents seized 117 firearms that were not properly logged into Riedesel’s acquisition and disposition books as required by federal law. Four of the weapons seized were required to be registered in the NFRTR, including the shotgun Riedesel admitted to possessing as part of his guilty plea today.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patti Hubert Booth is prosecuting.