PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island man found with an arsenal of more than 200 guns at his home along with thousands of rounds of ammunition and a flamethrower has agreed to plead guilty to some federal charges, according to court documents.
At a date to be determined, Ronald Andruchuk, 38, will plead guilty to lying to authorities in order to purchase guns and possessing a firearm as a prohibited person because of his alleged illegal drug use, according to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Providence on Tuesday.
The deal also calls for Andruchuk to forfeit all guns, ammunition and magazines that were seized from his Burrillville home in February.
In exchange, federal prosecutors have agreed to dismiss two charges and recommend a sentence at the low end of the guidelines, according to the agreement.
An email seeking comment was sent to Andruchuk’s lawyers on Thursday.
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Andruchuk has been detained since March when a Magistrate Judge determined that evidence of his “explosive expressions of rage and acts of violence,” a firearms “obsession that has led to neglect of the family,” and a “deep and intractable” level of mental health and substance abuse disorders made his detention the only way to protect the public.
Andruchuk was arrested at the home he shares with his wife and three children on Feb. 24 by police investigating reports of gunfire. Police found the guns strewn around several rooms and the basement of the home, and also hidden in various places, prosecutors have said.
Prosecutors have also said that he was manufacturing ghost guns, which are assembled from kits and do not have serial numbers, making them hard to trace.
Andruchuk’s attorneys have in the past described him as a firearms collector. They said the guns were in a locked basement where the children had no access and the flamethrower was legal and used for brush management and snow removal.
Andruchuk also faces gun, drug, and domestic violence charges in state court. Those charges are pending.
