Update: Mauldin Man Arrested on Federal Firearms Charges

Story has been updated with more details from Mauldin Police Det. Ben Ford.

A Mauldin man is facing federal firearms charges following his arrest by Mauldin Police and federal authorities, police Det. Ben Ford said Tuesday.

On Monday, the Mauldin Police Department worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) to arrest 19-year-old Wesley Landon Guarino for   federal gun violations, Ford said.  

He is currently in federal custody on a $75,000 surety bond, Ford said.

Guarino allegedly conspired and attempted to purchase what he believed to be stolen firearms from a confidential informant working with the Mauldin Police Department and ATF, Ford explained.

He was arrested without incident in the parking lot of the BI-LO on West Butler Road during "a controlled undercover operation" as he was attempting to purchase the guns from the informant, who was working with police and the ATF, Ford said. 

Guarino was allegedly attempting to buy two semi-automatic handguns, Ford said. What he might have been buying them for is still unknown. Following Guarino's arrest he was taken to a local hospital for observation after he claimed he was suicidal. Ford said the department had not had a chance to interview him before being handed over to the ATF for prosecution.

Why he was allegedly trying to buy the guns on the black market is clearer. Guarino, Ford said, has an extensive criminal record, including a prior gun charge, a prior drug charge, and was on probation for what Ford believed was a theft charge.

"He has quite a criminal record to be just 19 years old," Ford said.