A former Pasadena police lieutenant is expected to plead guilty Sept. 20 to federal charges of selling guns without a license and making false statements during a gun purchase.
Vasken Kenneth Gourdikian, 48, of Sierra Madre resigned from the Pasadena Police Department in March after a 22-year career, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
From March 2014 through February 2017, Gourdikian sold at least 108 firearms without a license, according to his plea agreement, which was filed Friday in Los Angeles federal court. Using his official status as a police officer to purchase firearms that were not available to the general public, Gourdikian sold restricted firearms, known as "off roster" firearms, through third-party transfers to members of the public, according to his plea agreement.
The I-Team learned one of the handguns Gourdikian sold was seized during a drug trafficking operation.
He would often highlight the unique status of the weapons to solicit a buyer's interest and generate higher sale prices. "Many of the firearms that defendant sold were 'off roster' firearms, that is, firearms that defendant's non-law enforcement customers could not have purchased directly from a licensed firearms dealer," according to the agreement.
While police officers were not prohibited from selling "off roster" firearms to the general public, Gourdikian "made a business of dealing firearms without a license, in part, by abusing exemptions made available to him under California law as a sworn peace officer," he admitted in the plea agreement.
The false statement offense relates to an ATF re-certification form Gourdikian signed in 2014 when he took possession of a handgun. Gourdikian admitted in the plea agreement that he "misrepresented that he was the actual buyer of a firearm when, in fact, and as defendant then well knew, he was purchasing the firearm for another individual."
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Gourdikian admitted that he re-sold the gun to another person on the same day he acquired it from the gun dealer. He further admitted that he "capitalized on his peace officer status" that allowed him to circumvent the usual 10-day waiting period and enabled him to purchase more than one handgun in a 30-day period, the plea agreement states.
"Mr. Gourdikian used his position as a law enforcement officer to purchase firearms generally not available to the public so he could turn around and illegally sell them for profit," U.S. Attorney Nick Hanna said. "His actions clearly violated federal law and introduced unauthorized firearms into the community. By his participating in these illegal acts, Gourdikian compromised public safety and violated the public's trust."
In the plea agreement, the government, in exchange for Gourdikian's acceptance of responsibility and agreement to forfeit 68 firearms, has agreed to recommend a prison sentence of 30 months. This recommendation, however, will not be binding on the judge, who could impose a sentence of up to 15 years in prison after Gourdikian pleads guilty to the two charges, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
