A San Diego gun store owner was convicted by a federal jury this week of assisting former San Diego County Sheriff's Captain Marco Garmo in his side business of unlawful firearms sales.
Giovanni "Gio" Tilotta, 41, owner of Honey Badger Firearms in Kearny Mesa, was found guilty Thursday of three felonies, in what the U.S. Attorney's Office said was believed to be the first federal criminal conviction of a civilian retail gun store owner in at least 15 years in the Southern District of California, which comprises San Diego and Imperial counties.
Prosecutors say Tilotta worked with Garmo and others to make "straw purchases," or falsely claiming to be the buyers of firearms while actually purchasing the guns on behalf of others, including prominent local jeweler Leo Hamel.
The U.S. Attorney's Office says Tilotta instructed Garmo and Hamel to make sham emails in order to hide that straw purchases were conducted at his store.
He also accepted backdated firearms transfer records for customers and would answer questions on those forms on the customer's behalf. Prosecutors say those questions are aimed at determining whether a purchaser might be prohibited from buying a gun, such as whether they are the subject of a restraining order.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said in one instance, Tilotta used backdated paperwork to sell a handgun and a rifle in Garmo's sheriff's office to local criminal defense attorney Vikas Bajaj, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of aiding and abetting the false entry of dealer records.
Tilotta was also convicted for assisting Garmo, the former captain of the sheriff's Rancho San Diego station, in illegally selling "off-roster" handguns to private citizens, despite the guns only being intended for law enforcement.
In addition to receiving cash for the firearms, federal prosecutors say Garmo conducted the gun sales to create goodwill among potential donors for his planned campaign to run for San Diego County Sheriff.
Garmo retired from the sheriff's department shortly before he and four others — including another San Diego County sheriff's deputy, Fred Magana, who assisted in straw purchases — were indicted.
Garmo was sentenced last year to two years in prison.
Tilotta is slated to be sentenced later this year, along with Magana, Hamel and El Cajon resident Waiel Anton, who helped people secure concealed carry permits quicker than usual through illegal means.
