Judge Rejects 2nd Amendment Claim for Man in US Illegally Charged with Possessing 170 Guns

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — A federal judge denied a motion to dismiss a gun charge against an Ohio man who was in the United States illegally for nearly two decades.

Carlos Serrano-Restrepo was indicted in early 2024 and later indicted for possession of a firearm by an alien illegally in the United States

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated Serrano-Restrepo and conducted surveillance after he completed a purchase of at least 22 firearms. He claimed to be a US citizen on the firearms forms.

After a search of his home, agents seized approximately 170 firearms, tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition and smoke/marine markers. At least one of the firearms was a .50 caliber Barret rifle.

Serrano-Restrepo said some of the weapons were for self-defense. Photos showed him storing firearms in gun cabinets and handguns mounted in holsters on the wall of a closet.

After the gun charge, his attorney filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that Serrano-Restrepo has a right to bear arms under the Second Amendment.

He moved to Orient, Ohio, in 2022 from Arizona. He told the court that he last entered the country without permission in 2008. He also owns a business that remediates fire and flood damage.

On November 21, 2024, the federal judge denied his motion to dismiss the charges, saying, “disarming illegal immigrants like Mr. Serrano-Restrepo who have not sworn allegiance to the United States is consistent with the nation’s history and tradition of firearms regulations. . . . Taking an oath of allegiance occurs through the naturalization process, not through his asylum application or his years in the United States.”

With the motion denied, his trial is currently set for January 21, 2025.