A federal jury in Las Vegas found an active-duty Navy SEAL guilty on 13 of 15 charges alleging he smuggled machine guns from Iraq and Afghanistan and headed a conspiracy to sell weapons and explosives in the U.S.
The jury returned the verdict Friday in U.S. District Court after about 10 hours considering the fate of Nicholas Bickle.
The 34-year-old petty officer could face decades of prison at sentencing Jan. 20.
U.S. District Court Judge Roger Hunt allowed Bickle to remain free until that time.
Investigators found 72 weapons in a raid last November at Bickle's apartment and a storage unit he leased near San Diego, in Las Vegas where two other convicted co-defendants live, and at the Durango, Colo., home of a man who pleaded guilty in the case.
