According to a press release issued November 9, 2010 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), five people have been arrested for the alleged sale of rifles and illegal assault weapons to San Fernando Valley gang members. The five arrested include three former Marines. One of the former Marines, Andrew Gitschlag, 28, was taken into custody on November 2 when a federal search warrant for illegal assault weapons was carried out at his San Clemente residence.
Deputy District Attorney Steven Dickman of the Hardcore Gang Division of the LA County District Attorney’s Office—who filed the felony complaint for arrest warrant and is prosecuting the case—said the defendants sold $6,000 dollars worth of illegal weapons on June 23 to a person they believed to be connected to the Florencia 13 gang. At the time the transaction allegedly occurred, Ortiz, a Post Office employee, reportedly opened the gate to a secured parking lot on U.S. Postal Service property to allow the other four defendants to enter.