ATF and Redlands PD Shutdown Unlicensed Dealer Making Firearms from Unfinished and Unmarked Lower Receivers

RIVERSIDE, California – A Redlands man has been arrested after being charged in federal court with selling rifles without a license.

Scott Everett Coyl, 28, of Redlands, was arrested without incident at his residence yesterday morning. Coyl was arrested pursuant to a criminal complaint filed on Wednesday that charges him with dealing firearms without a license.

Following his initial appearance yesterday afternoon in United States District Court, Coyl was freed on a $20,000 bond.

In conjunction with Coyl’s arrest, special agents from the Los Angeles Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), along with officers from the Redlands Police Department, seized from Coyl’s residence approximately 40 firearms, including three machine guns and eight silencers. They also seized more than 100 high-capacity magazines and ammunition.

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, in the last three weeks, Coyl sold five .223-caliber AR-type rifles – with no make or model markings, and no visible serial number – to a person he believed was a convicted felon. The purchaser of the rifles told Coyl he had a criminal record and that the purpose for the rifles was to send them to Mexico to be used in shootings. Despite learning this information, Coyl continued selling firearms to the individual.

The affidavit alleges Coyl built AR-type rifles from unfinished lower receivers, machining out the lower receiver, then adding parts to make a complete firearm. Coyl sold firearms out of the garage in his residence.

At his court hearing yesterday, a United States Magistrate Judge scheduled a preliminary hearing for April 13 and an arraignment on April 19.

If convicted of dealing firearms without a license charge, Coyl would face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison.

A criminal complaint contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court.

This matter is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the assistance of the Redlands Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Bilal A. Essayli of the Riverside Branch Office.