FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. (WSVN) - A Margate man was sentenced to 33 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for making a false statement during a firearm purchase and possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas handed down the sentence in Fort Lauderdale on Friday.
According to court findings, 31-year-old Robert Zildjian Mondragon falsely claimed he was not an unlawful marijuana user on an ATF Firearms Transaction Record in June 2019 while attempting to buy a Radical Arms rifle in Miami.
However, authorities said Mondragon had a long history of unlawful marijuana use, dating back years before the attempted purchase.
In November 2021, Mondragon was photographed with another firearm, and his phone contained references to marijuana on 71 occasions in the previous year, according to court documents.
Court records revealed Mondragon’s troubling history, including multiple threats to commit a mass shooting since 2013.
In 2018, after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act was enacted, Coral Springs officers secured a temporary risk protection order against Mondragon, which was still in effect during his 2019 firearm purchase attempt.
Mondragon is also accused of leaving dead animals at a memorial for the 17 victims of the 2018 Parkland school massacre.
In July 2021, he allegedly placed a dead duck, raccoon, and opossum on a bench at the memorial on three separate occasions.
When apprehended, officers reportedly found blood and feathers in his car.
He reportedly told officers he kept a dead bird in his car because he liked the smell.
Mondragon is currently awaiting trial in that case.
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