Corona Lawyer Found with Unregistered Firearms, Silencers and Hand Grenade Sentenced to Two Years in Federal Prison
LOS ANGELES – A California lawyer and former Rialto Police officer was sentenced this afternoon to 24 months in federal prison for possessing unregistered firearms, silencers and a hand grenade inside his pickup truck during a law enforcement stop.
Sergio Lopez de Tirado, 44, of Corona, was sentenced by United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin after he pleaded guilty in April 2019 to one count of possession of unregistered firearms and a destructive device.
On December 21, 2018, law enforcement found Lopez de Tirado asleep and apparently intoxicated in the passenger’s seat of a pickup truck that was parked with its doors wide open and blocking a driveway in Norco.
Upon searching the vehicle, law enforcement found two unregistered firearm silencers, including one that was attached to a semiautomatic rifle; an unregistered 9mm semiautomatic short-barreled rifle; and an unregistered hand grenade.
Law enforcement also found high-capacity magazines, ammunition, knives, a baton, brass knuckles, a Kevlar military-style helmet, and small bags containing marijuana and methamphetamine. That same evening, officers located enough bomb-making materials inside Lopez de Tirado’s home to construct several more homemade bombs.
Lopez de Tirado admitted in his plea agreement that he had not registered the short-barrel rifle, the silencers or the hand grenade with the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Inland Empire Joint Terrorism Task Force and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Substantial assistance was provided by the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Rialto Police Department, the Corona Police Department, and the California Highway Patrol.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Reema M. El-Amamy of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section.
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