JOHN Palacios Deleon Guerrero, 48, has been accused of multiple firearm violations and methamphetamine trafficking.
The Office of the Attorney General has charged him with three counts of storage of firearm violations, one count of removal of firearm serial number, one count of possession of firearm without firearm owner identification card, one count of trafficking of controlled substance and illegal possession of a controlled substance.
Deleon Guerrero appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Lilian Tenorio for a preliminary hearing on June 12. He was represented by court-appointed attorney Anthony Aguon while Chief Prosecutor Chester Hinds appeared for the government.
Judge Tenorio continued the hearing today, Tuesday, June 18 at 9 a.m. She likewise set an arraignment for July 1 at 9:30 a.m.
The complaint
According to the complaint against Deleon Guerrero, the Department of Public Safety-Drug Enforcement Task Force executed a search warrant at his residence on May 7, 2024, at around 10:05 a.m.
One of the officers noticed that Deleon Guerrero was in his vehicle in front of his residence. He was patted down after a search warrant was presented to him. Asked if he had anything illegal in the car, Deleon Guerrero said he had “something” in a black handbag.
Inside his residence, officers found a cardboard box containing three firearms: a .22 caliber brown Marlin 882 with serial no. 11536045, a .22 caliber black Winchester 600 with the serial number scratched off, and a 9 mm black Walther Arms PPS with serial no. BA7122.
Inside Deleon Guerrero’s bedroom, the officers found two rifles and one handgun.
In his vehicle, officers discovered multiple Ziploc bags in a black handbag. The Ziploc bags contained a crystalline substance, which was field-tested and yielded positive results for methamphetamine.
According to the complaint, 8.2 gross grams of methamphetamine were taken from Deleon Guerrero’s vehicle.
In a freely given statement to investigators, Deleon Guerrero admitted that the drugs found inside his vehicle belonged to him, and that he got them from “a Chinese friend named ‘Brother.’ ” He said “Brother” usually provided him with about 10 to 12 grams of meth every day to sell.
As for the firearms found in his bedroom, Deleon Guerrero said they belonged to another friend.
$910 in cash was also found in his vehicle, the complaint stated.
The DETF noted that Deleon Guerrero is not a registered firearms license holder.
