San Francisco Man To Face Federal Firearm Charges

SAN FRANCISCO – A federal grand jury indicted Michael Sandy Abadilla for possessing illegal and unregistered firearms and equipment, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) Special Agent in Charge Rayfield Roundtree.  The indictment was filed February 12, 2019, and unsealed today.

According to the indictment, on January 16, 2019, Abadilla, 52, of San Francisco, possessed five full automatic conversion switches.  Full automatic conversion switches are mechanical parts designed to convert a firearm from semi-automatic to fully-automatic, and as such constitute “machineguns” as defined by federal law.  The indictment also charges that the full automatic conversion switches were not registered to the defendant in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (“NFRTR”).  In addition, Abadilla was in possession of two firearm silencers that also were not registered to him in the NFRTR.  Abadilla is charged with one count of possession of illegal machineguns, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o), and two counts of possession of unregistered firearms, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).  

An indictment merely alleges that a crime has been committed and Abadilla, like all defendants, is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted of the Section 922(o) violation, Abadilla faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  If convicted of either of the Section 5861(d) violations, Abadilla faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $10,000, per count.  

Abadilla was arrested yesterday and made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler today.  Magistrate Judge Beeler scheduled Abadilla’s next appearance for February 20, 2019, for a detention hearing.

Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas Walsh is prosecuting this case with assistance from Margoth Turcios.  This case is the result of an investigation by the ATF.