TULALIP — A Marysville man caught with a stockpile of guns, including a military-style rifle, has been sentenced to a decade in prison.
Federal prosecutors called John Charles Keinath a prolific criminal who has spent 20 years engaged in a dangerous and illegal lifestyle.
“While the United States is sympathetic to defendant’s difficult upbringing, he has done little to transcend that background. Defendant has never sought viable treatment for mental health issues and has abused drugs on a daily basis,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Tate London wrote in court papers.
“Defendant has little, if any, legitimate work history. Finally, defendant acts out in a manner that is alarming and dangerous to those around him,” Tate added.
A federal grand jury indicted Keinath, 45, last year on three weapons crimes. The man is a convicted felon who is forbidden from having guns. He later admitted that he’d amassed nine stolen weapons.
The indictment came after a SWAT team raided Keinath’s ex-girlfriend’s house on the Tulalip Reservation. Keinath and his new girlfriend were sitting on a bed with drugs between them when police breached the house, court papers say.
Detectives found a stolen and loaded handgun in a safe along with more drugs. They also found a stolen handgun in a backpack near the bed. A Honda Element parked outside held nine guns, most of them stolen from a storage locker. There were multiple stolen laptops in the car, including one taken while the homeowners were at a funeral. Keinath’s storage locker held stolen electronics and at least one other gun.
Keinath, whose street nickname is “Flare,” eventually admitted to the detectives that he was in the business of fencing stolen property and selling drugs. He was slinging pounds of heroin and methamphetamine.
Keinath pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Judge Marsha Pechman ordered Keinath to get treatment for substance abuse and mental illness once he’s released.
Keinath came to the attention of Marysville police last year. Detectives were told that Keinath was supplying addicts with heroin and meth in exchange for stolen property, including guns.
One of his customers estimated that Keinath was dealing to as many as 100 people a day.
