Nazi memorabilia, firearms found in Colorado home

Morgan Whitley
·2 min read
2

DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado man was arrested after law enforcement said they searched his home and found more than a dozen firearms, potentially destructive devices and Nazi memorabilia and drawings.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado, 36-year-old Dean Fabiano was arrested and charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

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The investigation began after U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a package from China labeled “TOYS” which came from a company known to send gun parts and counterfeit merchandise into the United States.

According to a criminal complaint, the package contained two Glock switches and was addressed to Fabiano. Neither of the switches, which allow a handgun to operate in a fully automatic fashion, had serial numbers.

“What I found fascinating was that the feds had been tracking the importation of various trigger devices that would cause semi-automatic handguns, like the ones this guy possessed, to become fully automatic, and other silencers — we call them suppressors,” said legal analyst George Brauchler. “They’ve been tracking places in China that had been shipping them to the U.S. and disguising them as toys or other similarly weighted devices, and so they were on the lookout for this.”

Brauchler said the Nazi memorabilia is troubling, but by itself, it’s protected by the First Amendment. The complaint did not list any evidence of a specific threat.

“Federal law enforcement is taking a very aggressive approach when it comes to trying to keep firearms out of the wrong hands, and it begins even before stuff enters the country,” he said.

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This was at least the sixth shipment addressed to Fabiano since 2018 which, according to the criminal complaint, came from companies known to ship gun parts into the United States illegally.

Fabiano has multiple felony convictions dating back to 2002 that prohibit him from owning firearms or ammunition.

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On Sept. 6, federal law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Fabiano’s home where they reported finding the following:

  • 18 firearms

  • Various firearm parts and ammunition

  • Body armor

  • Suspected drugs including Xanax, psilocybin mushrooms, suspected meth

  • Potential destructive devices including elements needed for pipe bomb construction

  • Nazi memorabilia and drawings

During the search, law enforcement also said they found a letter from a storage unit that Fabiano was renting. Officers were able to obtain a search warrant for the storage unit and allegedly found additional guns, including one that had its serial number covered over by a swastika.

The case is now being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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