The U.S. Department of Justice reports a Kissimmee couple has been charged with numerous counts of lying to authorized firearms dealer to buy arms for others.
A 39-count indictment has been returned charging Kingsley Wilson, 35, and Viviana Rodriguez, 41, of Kissimmee, with dealing in firearms without a license, making a materially false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL), and causing an FLL to maintain false information in its official records. If convicted, each faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for dealing in firearms without a license; 10 years for each count of making a materially false statement to an FFL, and 5 years for each count of causing an FFL to maintain false information in its official records.
According to evidence and documents presented in court, between January 2022 and July 2023, Wilson purchased 89 firearms from multiple gun dealers in the Middle District of Florida. During that same period, Rodriguez purchased approximately 40 firearms. While purchasing these firearms, Wilson and Rodriguez each falsely certified on ATF Form 4473 (Firearm Transaction Records) that they were the “actual transferee/buyer” of the firearms. In actuality, they were purchasing the firearms for other individuals. Ten of the firearms purchased by Wilson have been recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes in the Bahamas and Canada.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
St. Cloud man gets federal sentence for distributing meth
A United States District Judge has sentenced Robert J. Potocnack, 49, of St. Cloud, to 15 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Potocnack had pleaded guilty back on May 10.
According to court documents, between September and November 2022, on three separate dates, Potocnack distributed methamphetamine to an undercover detective from the St. Cloud Police Department. During that same time frame, he also sold a firearm in conjunction with methamphetamine to the undercover detective.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Cloud Police Department, and is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.
Submitted by the Middle District of Florida
