In Maryland, a U.S. District Judge sentenced Ronnie Candelario to 41 months in prison for pleadings guilty to the possession of an unregistered fuel filter silencer. Following his release from prison, the Court sentenced Candelario to three years of supervised release.
Many readers might be wondering what exactly a fuel filter silencer is, I have included a video that shows how it works. By now many have heard or read about the different types of “do it yourself” suppressors. Gun owners have learned ways to make oil filter and flashlights suppress firearm noise. The latest trend is to use fuel filters now. One company has sold these products on Amazon, and the company even sells the filters as AR-15 suppressors.
ATF has shut down several of these companies. These oil filter suppressors are being sold as “solvent traps.” They are being marketed as a cleaning device to catch solvents poured down a barrel. Along with the filters, many online companies also sell adapters to make the suppressors work more efficiently. The end result is that the ATF caught on quickly and don’t allow firearm users to skirt around these rules anymore.
People can legally purchase Oil and Fuel filters , but the downside of these devices is the fact they still require the same paperwork, tax stamp, background checks that standard suppressors require. While these suppressors are most likely cheaper than the standard suppressor, they require individuals and those with Gun Trusts to go through all of the same steps for an imitation product. A failure to do so makes these suppressors illegal to possess, which is probably one reason the Court gave Candelario’s such a harsh prison sentence.
So far it’s been pretty rare for police to arrest a person for possession of a homemade suppressor. Typically they just request a forfeiture of the items. According to the plea agreement, Candelario sold and manufactured AR-15 style assault rifles in Maryland without a license. The ATF caught Candelario by using an anonymous man to purchase the firearms in a gas station parking lot. This agent purchased six rifles, as well as two fuel filter silencers.
The agent told Candelario that the firearms he was purchasing were for resale in New York. Candelario told the agent he was manufacturing all of the guns and silencers he sold. He even stated he had other customers for whom he was manufacturing AR-15 style firearms. Candelario did not have any guns or silencers registered to him.
On June 22, ATF agents executed a search warrant at Candelario’s residence in Maryland. The agents and police officers later told the press they recovered items used to manufacture firearms and silencers. These items included boxes of AR-15 lower receivers; a fuel filter with an adapter used in the assembly of silencers; AR-15 magazines and rifle sights with boxes; and vices, a drill press, and other tools.
For more information on how to legally obtain a suppressor from the ATF using a Gun Trust use the contact us form on this page.