Rio Rancho man pleads guilty to federal firearms offenses

Peter Lynch, 46, of Rio Rancho pled guilty in federal court to one count each of possession of a firearm not registered with the national firearms registration and transfer records and illegal receipt of an imported firearm.

According to court documents, on April 20, 2023, during the execution of a search warrant at Lynch’s residence in Rio Rancho, law enforcement officers located two silencers. In his plea agreement, Lynch admitted that he had ordered them online and that he did not have the proper legal authorization to possess them as he did not have permission from the attorney general of the United States to import them and they were not registered to Lynch in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. He was indicted for that May 18, 2023.

It was not his only brush with law enforcement in relation to the case. Lynch is also accused of violating his bond conditions after removing his court-ordered ankle monitor and leaving a halfway house on May 7, which prompted a SWAT activation in Rio Rancho May 10.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Lynch will remain in custody while he waits for a sentencing in the plea agreement, where he faces up to 10 years in prison.