Man arrested for illegal firearm possession

A 69-year-old Key Largo man was arrested Thursday for possessing an AR-15 rifle with a “bump stock” attached, which the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) classified as illegal in 2019.

Jorge Poo was charged with possessing a bump stock firearm.

The case began on May 1 when Poo was arrested and charged with aggravated assault after pointing a gun at a group of people at a Key largo condominium. There had been an argument over people driving golf carts on condo grass, of which Poo disapproved. Shortly after Poo’s arrest, a county judge granted the Sheriff’s Office the authority to remove all the firearms from Poo’s residence until his criminal matter was resolved.

Detectives arrived to Poo’s residence on May 12 with that order and Poo obliged. Detectives recovered an Ruger AR-15 rifle with a bump stock on that day.

Bump stocks or bump fire stocks are gun stocks that can be used to assist in “bump” firing. Bump firing is the act of using the recoil of a semi-automatic gun to fire ammunition in rapid succession.

On Dec. 18, 2018, Acting U.S. Attorney General Matthew Whitaker announced the Department of Justice amended the regulations of the ATF, clarifying that bump stocks fall within the definition of “machine gun” under federal law, as the devices allow a shooter of a semiautomatic firearm to initiate a continuous firing cycle with a single pull of the trigger. On March 26, 2019, the ATF passed a final ruling on bump stocks making them illegal to own or sell.

Sheriff’s Office Detectives notified the ATF after finding the AR-15 bump stock rifle on May 12.

The ATF eventually notified the Sheriff’s Office that they would not pursue the case, however the Monroe County State Attorney’s Office stated they would.

A warrant was subsequently issued for Poo’s arrest and he was booked into jail on Friday.

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