Man arrested for illegal gun sales, police say
Roger Triplett, 34, of Long Beach was allegedly building firearms in his home and selling them, according to authorities.
Police arrested a Long Beach man last week for building and selling firearms without a license, police said Thursday.
Long Beach police say Roger Alexander Triplett, 34, of Long Beach was buying gun parts online, constructing them in his home and selling them without a license. As a convicted felon, Triplett was also prohibited from possessing firearms, according to the LBPD.
During its investigation, LBPD identified Triplett as a possible suspect, police said. After obtaining a search warrant, detectives, officers and members of the SWAT team arrested Triplett at his home in the 100 block of East 23rd Street on Friday, Sept. 18, according to police.
At the home, officers found 17 rifles and shotguns and another 15 handguns, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition and body armor, police said.
Triplett was booked for felon possessing a firearm, prohibited person possessing ammunition, importing a short-barreled rifle, illegally possessing any assault weapon, possessing a firearm silencer, selling a large capacity magazine, selling firearms without a license, criminal storage of firearms, violent felon possessing body armor, child endangerment and confining an animal without adequate care, according to the LBPD.
He was denied bail, police said.
“The arrest of this individual and the recovery of over thirty firearms is a reminder of the important work our LBPD specialized units are able to do,” Police Chief Wally Hebeish said in a statement Thursday. “Through this investigation, detectives recovered numerous weapons that now cannot be used to harm or victimize our community.”
Authorities are asking anyone with knowledge of this incident to contact Societal Crimes Detective Martin Wysoki at 562-570-7221.
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