A gun-selling scheme run out of the Rancho San Diego sheriff's substation may have been broader than initially thought, according to evidence from the trial of gun store owner Gio Tilotta
When a San Diego gun store owner was tried and convicted earlier this month in federal court, new evidence emerged suggesting that illegal firearm sales at the Sheriff’s Department’s Rancho San Diego substation was a deeper issue than previously known., Marco Garmo, and one of his top lieutenants, Fred Magana, had already pleaded guilty to charges related to illegally selling guns, evidence at the trial alleged a sheriff’s detective and deputy had also been involved in unlawful gun purchases.
The allegations of the two additional deputies’ involvement in the broader gun-selling scheme was the latest revelation in what prosecutors called a “long-term corruption investigation” that largely centered around the sheriff’s Rancho San Diego substation. The unusual, winding case, which, resulted in what prosecutors said was the first federal conviction of a San Diego-area gun store owner in at least 15 years.
Before the two deputies’ names surfaced during the proceedings, Tilotta’s trial appeared to be the final phase of the years-long investigation and criminal case. But now it’s unclear whether the two deputies might also face charges. A spokesperson for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said she could not release details about an ongoing investigation nor disclose if specific individuals are being investigated.
Campagna was hired in 2007 and was most recently assigned to rural enforcement at the Campo substation prior to being placed on administrative assignment. He worked out of the Rancho San Diego substation from May 2014 to April 2020. As for those named in the Garmo indictment, all have either pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial. Garmo used his badge to buy “off-roster” guns that only law enforcement officers can purchase new in California and then sold them to others. Prosecutors have argued that he was using the gun sales not only to make money, but to curry favor with wealthy gun enthusiasts, particularly Hamel, who might in turn support his future campaign for sheriff.
Ginger Colbrun, a spokesperson for the ATF’s Los Angeles field division, said Tilotta’s conviction bars him from having a federal firearm license. He ran his Kearny Mesa gun store, Honey Badger Firearms, under a license registered to his corporation. The corporation did not renew its license when it expired at the end of last month, and the store’s website contained a message Friday that pickup orders would be canceled “while we update our local city permits.
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