A federal judge denied a request to dismiss a gun charge against an illegal immigrant in Ohio who had been in the U.S. for more than 15 years, rejecting the man’s argument that he has a right to bear arms.
Carlos Serrano-Restrepo was charged earlier this year and was subsequently indicted for possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the U.S., according to WSYX.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives began investigating and watching Serrano-Restrepo after he purchased at least 22 firearms, and claimed to be a U.S. citizen on the firearms forms.
Agents conducted a search of his home and seized roughly 170 firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and smoke/marine markers.
Serrano-Restrepo said some of the guns were purchased for self-defense.
Photos that agents took at his home revealed he kept firearms in gun safes. Some handguns were also mounted in holsters on the wall of a closet.
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The suspect’s lawyer submitted a motion to dismiss the charge on the argument that he has the right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.
The judge denied his motion to dismiss the charge on Thursday, writing in his opinion 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,” the judge continued. “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.”
His trial is scheduled for Jan. 21, 2025.
Serrano-Restrepo moved from Arizona to Orient, Ohio, in 2022. He told the court he last unlawfully entered the U.S. in 2008.
He also owns a business that remediates fire and flooding damage.
