Gun Dealer Pleads Guilty to Tax Charges
A longtime Santa Ana firearms dealer pleaded guilty Tuesday to evading about $33,000 in tax payments he owed for importing and selling weapons, federal authorities said.
Donald Mitchell, 65, of Fountain Valley was charged in March with evading payment of nearly $500,000 in firearms excise taxes on guns he imported and sold in the United States between 1991 and 1994.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to one count of failure to pay about $33,000 in taxes, but admitted to U.S. Judge Alicemarie H. Stotler that he failed to pay $500,000 in taxes he owes, according to Asst. U.S. Atty. David Lavine, who prosecuted the case.
Mitchell is scheduled to be sentenced by Stotler April 15. He faces up to five years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine, and the repayment of all unpaid taxes.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
