Show-Me State Times

An Olathe, Kansas man has pleaded guilty to federal charges involving the theft of firearms and the transportation of child pornography into the United States. Frank Guereca, 23, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark.

Guereca admitted to stealing 41 firearms from a federally licensed gun dealer in Raytown, Missouri. The incident occurred on June 16, 2023, when Guereca and two accomplices used a stolen U-Haul truck to break into the store by ramming it and creating an entry point. They then took dozens of firearms from the premises.

Authorities recovered some of the stolen weapons in different locations over several months following the burglary. One pistol was found in Tracy, California on November 14, 2023; another was located in Chihuahua, Mexico on December 19, 2023; and a third was recovered in Juarez, Mexico on February 6, 2024.

Guereca was arrested at the border on April 25, 2024 while attempting to re-enter the United States from Mexico. Law enforcement seized his Samsung Galaxy cell phone during his arrest. A subsequent search revealed approximately 250 images and 70 videos depicting child pornography that he had transported into the country from Mexico.

According to records from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Guereca crossed between Mexico and the United States about twenty times after committing the firearm theft.

Federal law allows for up to ten years in prison without parole for stealing firearms from a licensed dealer and up to twenty years without parole for transporting child pornography. Sentencing will be determined by the court after a presentence investigation is completed by the United States Probation Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Alison D. Dunning are prosecuting this case with investigative support from multiple agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Raytown Police Department.

"This case is part of Operation Take Back America," according to officials involved with the prosecution. "Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from perpetrators of violent crime." The operation coordinates efforts among various programs within DOJ such as Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).