SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow announces that on July 22, 2021, a federal jury convicted Jean Carlos Polaco-Hance of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition and of unlawful possessing a machinegun. He faces a sentence of up to 10 years of imprisonment.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on September 10, 2020, in San Anton Ward, Carolina, Jean Carlos Polaco-Hance, a convicted felon, unlawfully possessed a Glock pistol, model 32C, .357 caliber that had been modified so that it was capable of firing as a machine gun.
On that date, agents from the Puerto Rico Police Bureau, Carolina Intelligence Unit were traveling on Saint Just Street in Carolina in an unmarked vehicle. As the officers passed in front of an auto-repair shop, they noted that Polaco-Hance was staring at the officer’s vehicle while reaching into a bag in what the officers recognized as a threating gesture reaching for a weapon.
The officers returned to the auto-repair shop to investigate. The officers dismounted the vehicle, announced themselves as police officers and approached Polaco-Hance. As the agents approached, Polaco-Hance ran from the officers and tossed a black bag over a fence. The officers pursued him and eventually placed Polaco-Hance under arrest. The officers recovered the bag, which contained a Glock pistol, modified to fire in fully automatic mode. In addition, the bag contained 5 magazines and a total of 111 rounds of .357 caliber, two cellphones and $640.00 US dollars. The officers contacted agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), who investigated the case and presented it to the United States Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
The case was investigated by the PRPB, FBI and the Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Computer Forensic Laboratory, which assisted in the investigation of the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Gottfried, Chief of the Violent Crimes and National Security Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos R. Cardona.
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