RI man who illegally bought 200 guns loses court appeal

Court records show that approximately 170 of these guns were purchased over a five-month period in 2021, when Andruchuk was struggling with drug addiction.

As part of the plea agreement, Andruchuk waived his right to appeal the prison sentence, provided the sentence was “within or below the sentencing range established by the court,” according to court filings.

But Andruchuk ultimately appealed. It was rejected by a three-judge panel on Monday after hearing oral arguments on Nov. 4, records show.

Inside 23-page decisionU.S. Circuit Judge Bruce Selya repeatedly stated that Andruchuk knew he could not appeal his case when he accepted the plea deal and that he was briefed and that the issues he raised in the appeal were not raised in court before his sentencing.

“The defendant acknowledged that he understood what the court told him,” Selya wrote. “In short, the defendant knew very well what he was giving up when he waived his right to appeal by taking advantage of the negotiated defense.”

In his appeal, Andruchuk argued that prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence showing he had firearm magazines in his possession, which would have subjected him to the longer prison sentence he would eventually receive under federal law.

However, Selya wrote that Andruchuk himself “admitted the accuracy of all the facts presented during the sentencing.” As a result, prosecutors lacked incentive to provide further details about the case or, in other words, to identify “a specific qualified journal,” Selya wrote.

“The undisputed evidence before the court included photographs of numerous weapons lying next to piles of ammunition and a description of the 219 weapons and 1,500 pounds of ammunition seized,” Selya wrote. “We find no clear or obvious error in the district court’s calculation of the guideline range.

Selya added, “To explain this claim further would be painting the lily.”

Andruchuk also argued in his appeal that he received ineffective legal advice.

Selya wrote that the court could not take these arguments into account because these issues should be raised when a case is being considered in the first instance court.

“We know nothing about the thinking behind counsel’s approach, so we cannot begin to make a reasonable judgment about the adequacy of his performance,” the judge wrote. “For another thing, there is no evidence that counsel’s alleged deficiencies harmed the defense.”

Andruchuk was arrested after neighbors filed a police complaint they feared for their safety: According to court records, he had a shooting range on his property and bullets were raining down on his home. One of them bounced off a nearby residence and some even flew over the heads of police officers who were called to check on reports of gunfire.

Court records also emerged Text messages between Andruchuk and his wife Andruchuk threatened to kill her — some of which she sent in the months he purchased large numbers of guns — and Andruchuk claimed he was abusive to her and frightened her sons.

Andrucuk pleaded guilty He pleaded guilty in December 2022 to a charge of possession of a firearm by a person using a controlled substance and two counts of making a false statement when purchasing a firearm, to which he lied to federal firearms dealers about his lack of drug use.

As part of his sentence, Andruchuk was also ordered to spend three years on probation and receive mental health and substance abuse treatment upon his release. He must also pay a $10,000 fine.

At his sentencing hearing in April 2023, Andruchuk said he regretted “all the actions that got me imprisoned.”

“I don’t want to use drugs again,” he said. “I want to stay sober and be the best role model for my children.”

He is currently incarcerated at the Petersburg Federal Correctional Institution, a low-security prison in Virginia.

Court records show Andruchuk still faces state charges in Rhode Island for his alleged conduct in Burrillville; this includes two counts of possession of a ghost weapon; producing ghost weapons; his wife’s domestic cyberstalking; and disorderly behavior within the family, among others.

At the time of his arrest on federal charges, Andruchuk was also facing state charges in Massachusetts stemming from a December 2021 incident. Authorities alleged Andruchuk hid two handguns and a flashlight containing cocaine, oxycodone and amphetamines in the ceiling of the men’s bathroom at Tractor. Supply Co. in Millbury.

Globe Staff’s Amanda Milkovits contributed to this report. Follow Christopher Gavin on X @chris_m_gavin and in Bluesky @chrisgavin.bsky.social.

Christopher Gavin can be reached at [email protected].