In a recent development from the Southern District of Florida, Gabriel Donato-Mendez, a Port St. Lucie man, has been found guilty by a federal jury for conspiracy to export AR-15 firearms to Costa Rica. The conviction encompasses attempted smuggling of defense articles and conspiracy to export United States defense articles, as stated in U.S. Attorney's Office official reports.
Donato-Mendez, aged 48, was implicated in a scheme that spanned six months between 2018 and 2019 during which he purchased over 150 AR-15 "kits". These kits, essentially unassembled firearms, require minor drilling and assembly before they are converted into working AR-15 rifles. The incident that tipped federal authorities was on March 4, 2019, when Donato-Mendez moved at least 84 of these kits from a Daytona store to a freight forwarding service for exportation.
Under the laws at that time, AR-15s and their parts were designated as "defense articles" on the United States Munitions List, necessitating a license from the Department of State's Directorate of Defense Trade Controls for any kind of export. The investigation revealed that neither Donato-Mendez nor any of his associates held the required license for such activities.
Now, as he awaits sentencing set for February 7, 2025, by Chief U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga, Donato-Mendez is facing a maximum of ten years for the smuggling charge and an additional five for the conspiracy. Sentencing will take into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines along with other statutory factors, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office announcement.
The effort to bring Donato-Mendez to court-involved Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami and Fort Pierce, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Fort Pierce. The investigation was supported by the Costa Rican Organismo de Investigación Judicial and the U.S. Department of State Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC). Prosecutors for the case are Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel Rosenfeld and Stefan Diaz Espinosa, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Annika Miranda overseeing asset forfeiture. More details are available on the Southern District of Florida's courthouse website or through the PACER system under case number 24-cr-20075.
