TACOMA, Wash. — The U.S. District Court in Tacoma has sentenced a Brazilian National to two and a half years in federal prison for falsifying documents to acquire weapons, falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen, illegal possession of weapons, and having a silencer.
48-year-old Joao Ricardo DeBorba, from Vancouver, overstayed a tourist visa in 1999, was previously convicted of domestic violence in 2019, and had 20 guns confiscated. After a second domestic violence conviction in 2022, three AR-15 style rifles and two ghost guns were taken away.
“Despite having firearms seized from him, he replenished his cache of weapons and ammo, and began to obtain ghost guns as well as a firearm silencer, a highly restricted weapon under federal law,” Assistant United States Attorney Max Shiner wrote to the court.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington, DeBorda purchased the guns from various locations in Oregon and Washington.
DeBorda was convicted in a bench trial in February 2024 and had been at the Federal Detention Center in SeaTac.
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