Robert Zildjian Mondragon, 31, of Margate, Fla., was sentenced to 33 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release, after being convicted of making a false statement during a firearm purchase and possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance. Mondragon was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas during a hearing in Fort Lauderdale.
According to the specific findings of fact issued by the Court, on April 9, 2024, Mondragon stated in a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Firearms Transaction Record, specifically ATF Form 4473, on June 18, 2019, that he was not an unlawful user of marijuana. Mondragon made the false statement in connection with the attempted purchase of a Radical Arms rifle in Miami with the intent to deceive the licensed firearm dealer and that false statement was material to the lawfulness of the sale. The Firearms Transaction Record, Form 4473, had in bold print a warning that the use or possession of marijuana remains a federal violation and it is unlawful even if marijuana had been legalized or decriminalized for medical purposes in the applicant’s state. Prior to that attempted purchase, Mondragon had established a years-long pattern of unlawful marijuana use.
On Nov. 14, 2021, Mondragon was photographed with another firearm. The year before, his phone contained references to weed on seventy-one days.
The sentencing hearing and related court filings referenced additional information regarding Mondragon’s conduct and background. As was addressed in court, since 2013, Mondragon has made multiple threats to commit a mass shooting. In 2018, the Florida Legislature enacted the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act, which allowed members of law enforcement to seek a court order restricting firearm and ammunition possession by a person who poses a danger to themselves or others, and on March 29, 2018, City of Corals Springs officers sought a temporary risk protection order against Mondragon which was granted after a hearing. That order remains in place and was in effect when he attempted to purchase a firearm in June 2019.
