Weapons Seized In Major Bust At Long Island Home

Authorities have released details on the arrest of a Long Island man for allegedly selling an illegal AR-15 assault rifle and four large capacity ammunition feeding devices to a person he believed to be prohibited from owning a gun.

Larry Guerrieri, 65, was arrested Wednesday following the execution of a search warrant at his home on Peekskill Avenue in East Patchogue by Suffolk County Police detectives assigned to the District Attorney’s Squad and Emergency Services Section officers. The investigation began with a tip provided by an investigator in the Suffolk County Police Department’s Pistol Licensing Bureau, Suffolk County DA Tim Sini said during a press conference Thursday afternoon.

The search warrant resulted in the seizure of:

• Four assault rifles, at least three of which are illegal in New York
• 19 various rifles and shotguns
• 25 handguns
• 10 illegal assorted knives
• 8 military-style ammunition containers filled with thousands of various caliber rounds of ammunition
• More than 50 large capacity ammunition feeding devices, including a 50-round magazine drum

“This case is an extraordinary example of superb collaboration between the Suffolk County Police Department and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office,” Sini said. “Because of that collaboration, we put an end to a recipe for a massacre.”

In January 2018, a Suffolk County detective assigned to the District Attorney’s Squad, acting in an undercover capacity, purchased a Wilson Combat .223 Remington semiautomatic rifle and four high capacity magazines from Guerrieri out of his home for $2,000, Sini said.

“Not only is it illegal for the defendant to sell that weapon because he is not licensed to do so, the firearm itself – a high-powered military-grade assault rifle – is illegal under New York State Law. It included a pistol grip, a muzzle brake, and the ability to accept a detachable magazine,” Sini said. “Moreover, the undercover detective made clear to the defendant during the transaction that he or she was prohibited under the law from owning a weapon. This was a triple whammy: It was an illegal sale of an illegal weapon to a prohibited person.”

The weapons were seized from this home in East Patchogue. (Google Maps image)

During the transaction, Guerrieri offered to sell the detective a second illegal assault weapon, which had the ability to accept a detachable magazine, a flash suppressor and a telescopic stock, Sini said.

“Based on the evidence we’ve collected thus far, these guns, if not seized as a result of this investigation, could have flooded the streets of Suffolk County,” Sini said. “These are killing machines, and they were in the hands of an individual who was selling these weapons illegally.”

Guerrieri is charged with second degree criminal possession of a weapon, third degree criminal sale of a firearm and three counts of third degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was arraigned in Suffolk County District Court on Thursday. Bail was set at $250,000 cash or $500,000 bond.

Photos provided by the SCDA's office