WASHINGTON — A Pennsylvania man who brought a semi-automatic pistol and an AR-15-style rifle to D.C. last year pleaded guilty to a firearms offense on Friday.
According to a news release from the Secret Service, Bryan D. Moles, 44, of Edinboro, Pennsylvania, put both a Glock 23 .40-caliber pistol and a Bushmaster Carbon-15 .2235.56mm caliber rifle in his car, then left Pennsylvania on May 30, 2017.
He arrived in D.C. early in the morning on May 31, 2017.
When Moles got to D.C., he parked his car at the Trump International Hotel, informed hotel staff of the guns in his car, and checked in as a hotel guest. The pistol was in an unlocked glove compartment and the rifle was in an unlocked rifle case in the car’s rear hatchback.
Later, law enforcement officers knocked on the door of his hotel room, and Moles told them about the firearms and that he was a marijuana user.
The agents found marijuana and a smoking device in the bathroom of his hotel room. He was arrested.
Moles was released on June 2, 2017, but a judge later determined he had violated his pretrial release conditions, so he was taken back into custody on June 15, 2017, and has been there ever since.
On July 6, 2018, Moles pleaded guilty to carrying a pistol without a license, which is illegal in D.C. Under D.C. law, Moles’ marijuana use made him ineligible to have a firearm license.
His plea bargain included the government dismissing the federal firearms charge from the indictment in June 2017.
Carrying a pistol without a license, the charge Moles pleaded guilty to, has a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $12,500 fine. Based on D.C. guidelines, Moles faces between six and 24 months in prison. The judge, The Honorable Richard J. Leon, scheduled Moles’ sentencing for Sept. 7, 2018.
Moles’ case was investigated by the Secret Service, ATF and D.C. police. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Friedman.
