KC Reporter

An Olathe, Kansas man has admitted to stealing dozens of firearms from a Missouri gun store and transporting child pornography into the United States from Mexico. Frank Guereca, 23, pleaded guilty in federal court before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to one count of stealing firearms from a federally licensed dealer and one count of transportation of child pornography.

Prosecutors said that on June 16, 2023, Guereca and two accomplices used a stolen U-Haul truck to ram into the front of a gun shop in Raytown, Missouri. The group created an opening in the building and entered through it, taking 41 firearms from the business. Law enforcement later recovered some of these weapons: one pistol was found in Tracy, California on November 14, 2023; another was discovered in Chihuahua, Mexico on December 19, 2023; and a third was located in Juarez, Mexico on February 6, 2024.

Guereca was arrested on April 25, 2024 while trying to re-enter the United States from Mexico. Authorities seized his Samsung Galaxy cell phone at that time. A subsequent search uncovered about 250 images and 70 videos depicting child pornography that Guereca had brought into the country from Mexico.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection records showed that Guereca crossed the border around twenty times after committing the burglary and theft last June.

According to federal law, Guereca could face up to ten years in prison without parole for firearm theft and up to twenty years for transporting child pornography. Sentencing will be determined by the court based on advisory guidelines following an investigation by the United States Probation Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Alison D. Dunning are prosecuting this case with support from several agencies including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Raytown Police Department.

"This case is part of Operation Take Back America," according to officials. "Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN)."