<p>Rohnert Park Man is Sentenced to Six Years Prison for Possessing and Manufacturing Illegal Firearms</p>

Defendant Joshua Cargile, 44 years old of Rohnert Park, was sentenced today by the Honorable Robert LaForge to serve six years in state prison for felony possession of a firearm by a felon, and felony possession of an unlawful assault weapon. The defendant had previously been convicted of felony theft of a firearm in 2006, and as a result had been prohibited from possessing firearms. 

District Attorney Ravitch stated, “As illegal and untraceable firearms become more common in our community, my office will continue to aggressively prosecute those responsible, and when appropriate to seek lengthy prison sentences.”  

The first incident occurred on December 25, 2019 when the defendant’s father called 911 to report that his son was expressing suicidal ideations and asking where his father kept his guns. When officers responded to the defendant’s residence they located an AK-47 and a revolver. Although they subsequently determined the AK-47 was inoperable, it was only missing a minor part which could have been easily obtained. 

In August of 2020, while the defendant was on pretrial release, agents with the Department of Homeland Security contacted Rohnert Park Police to advise that a package addressed to the defendant, which contained three firearm silencers, had been intercepted by US Customs. The package had been shipped from China and had been disguised as oil filters.

With the assistance of Homeland Security, Rohnert Park Officers conducted a probation search of the defendant’s residence where they located a silencer, multiple parts for AR-15 style rifles, and numerous gun accessories and manufacturing tools. During a later search of the defendant’s storage units they located five fully operational firearms, numerous silencers, multiple high capacity magazines, and over 800 rounds of ammunition. 

The defendant admitted to officers he would frequently assist friends in locating parts and assembling firearms for them. He further indicated he bought the numerous seized silencers for $25 each off an online website. 

All of the firearms and firearm parts seized during the investigation were ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Matt Hobson. The Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety, headed the investigation.