Wilmington man sentenced for stockpiling firearms despite mental health history

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington man with a mental health history is going to prison for lying on ATF forms and stockpiling guns.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Hasan Eminof, 20, was sentenced to 3 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. On November 18, 2018 Eminof pleaded guilty to a three-count indictment, charging two counts of making a false statement to a licensed firearm dealer and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who had been adjudicated mentally defective or committed to a mental institution.

On April 14, 2015, Brunswick County District Court ordered that Eminof be involuntarily committed to a mental institution for a period of 15 days due to mental illness and being a danger to himself.

Following a review at the end of that period, he was committed for an additional 15 days.

In addition, on January 22, 2016, the Wayne County District Court in Goldsboro ordered that Eminof be involuntarily committed to a mental facility for 30 days based on his being mentally ill and a danger to himself and others. This mental health history rendered Eminof  ineligible to possess firearms.

Eminof tried to purchase firearms on at least three occasions from June to October of 2016.

In particular, on June 8, 2016, Eminof attempted to purchase an AR-15 rifle at Backwater Guns in Wilmington, and on July 21, 2016, he attempted to purchase a “long gun” at Bullzeye Shooting, also in Wilmington.

Both times, Eminof completed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473, the over the counter firearm transaction record. Question 11.f of the form asked, “Have you ever been adjudicated as a mental defective OR have you ever been committed to a mental institution?” In both instances, contrary to his history, Eminof checked the “No” box and signed the form, indicating that all his answers were true, correct, and complete. Despite the misrepresentations, the background checks correctly determined that he was a prohibited person, and the firearms dealers declined to make the sales.

Still, on March 4, 2018, Eminof was found to be in possession of multiple firearms. That day, Eminof was on state probation, and his probation officers conducted a warrantless search of his Wilmington residence.

When they arrived, they found Eminof sitting in his parked car, which smelled of marijuana. Searching the car, the officers found not only a small amount of marijuana but also a stockpile of firearms – four handguns, a pistol-grip shotgun, and a rifle.

Four of the firearms were loaded, and officers also seized additional loaded magazines for the handguns as well as loose ammunition for the shotgun and rifle. In addition to the firearms and ammunition, officers recovered from the car four knives, a brass knuckles Taser device, six cell phones, and a full-head goblin mask.