A former manager of a gun store at the Los Angeles Police Academy has been charged after allegedly stealing weapons and illegally selling them, officials announced Tuesday.
Archi Duenas, 34, faces one felony count each of grand theft of a firearm, grand theft by embezzlement and illegal possession of an assault weapon, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. He also faces 22 counts of unlawful selling or transferring of a firearm without a license and one count of carrying a loaded and concealed firearm in a vehicle, all described as misdemeanors.
Duenas allegedly stole at least 21 guns from the store at the academy, also known as the Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club, over a two-year period starting in early 2018, according to the DA’s office.
Duenas allegedly sold the guns to several officers and one Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Though the club is private, it is run by civilian employees and primarily used by law enforcement officers, officials explained in a news release.
Duenas then allegedly sold the guns to others and “profited from the sales.”
He was fired and subsequently arrested in March after 35 firearms went missing from the gun store, LAPD officials said.
Since then, 24 firearms have been recovered and 11 remain outstanding.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday and faces a maximum sentence of more than 12 years in custody if convicted as charged.
The case remains under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department’s commercial crimes division and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Los Angeles Police Revolver and Athletic Club continues to have a valid federal firearms license and the ATF inspected the location after the investigation.
A new store manager and a compliance officer were eventually hired, and the store reopened Tuesday for gun sales by appointment only, LAPD officials said.
