SAN DIEGO – With a search warrant in hand, federal agents from the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confiscated computers,
customer lists and the questionable polymer 80 percent lower receivers from
four Ares Armor store locations throughout San Diego County over the weekend.
“There were women and children inside our retail establishment
when the (ATF) agents came in with guns drawn,” said Ares Armor Executive
Officer Dimitrios Karras. “They came into our firearms manufacturing facility
saying, ‘Arms up!’ like they were invading Iraq.”
The raid happened three days after Ares owner was granted a
temporary restraining by a judge to stop ATF agents from searching their
stores.
The ATF confirmed they were investigating the stores for federal
firearm violations stemming from the sale of a new plastic version of the 80
percent lowers, which gun enthusiast use to build their own AR-15 rifles.
Building a rifle with specific versions of the 80 percent
receivers is legal. The
polymer lower receiver appears
to be manufactured differently with two parts, making them a firearm and
illegal sell, according to the ATF.
“We did ask the court to clarify if these things were firearms or
not,” said Karras. “We did ask for protection as this gets resolved within the
court system.”
Karras said they had their polymer lower receivers locked in a
closet ready to turn over to the ATF since Wednesday. He was more
concerned about the federal agents taking lists of his customers’ information.
“If anybody is a criminal organization that should be
investigated, I think they should look in the mirror. We gave them a black eye
publicly,” Karras said. “They tried to do an underhanded deal with us. They
said, ‘Hey hush, hush. Keep it secret and nobody’s going to know that we took
the customer list from you. Nobody’s going to know we took this from you.’”
The investigation has some customers nervous about their right to
bear arms.
“I’m on that list, and I’m waiting for the knock on the door to
tell me they are here to remove my second amendment rights,” one customer told
Fox 5.
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