Seattle man pleads guilty to illegal possession of a dozen firearms including assault rifles

Federal felony convictions from two states prohibit possession of firearms

Seattle – A 67-year-old Seattle man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Brian T. Moran.  PARK QUAN was arrested July 29, 2019, after FBI agents investigating one of his roommates in connection with a data theft served a search warrant on his home and discovered a cache of weapons.  QUAN has remained in custody since his arrest.  Prosecutors and defense attorneys will recommend a four-year prison sentenced when QUAN is sentenced by U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour on September 8, 2020.

According to records filed in the case, agents investigating the data theft were sweeping the residence for safety when they observed numerous firearms in a bedroom used by QUAN.  Agents applied for and got a second judicially-authorized search warrant and began collecting the firearms.  The cache of weapons included four semi-automatic handguns, six semi-automatic rifles, two of them assault rifles, and two additional rifles.  At least one of the semi-automatic rifles was loaded.  Law enforcement also seized a variety of ammunition, high-capacity magazines, flare launchers, some containers of explosive powder, and two bump stocks, which QUAN claimed to have purchased before the devices were outlawed.

QUAN has a 1983 federal conviction in Washington for being a felon in possession of explosives and a 1991 federal conviction in Texas for possessing an unregistered machine gun.  QUAN also has a military court-martial conviction for soliciting the theft of military weapons.  Due to those convictions, QUAN is prohibited from possessing firearms.

The case is being investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF).  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Steven Masada and Andrew Friedman.