LOS ANGELES
A hookah lounge owner was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison for illegally selling firearms, including several “ghost guns,” officials stated.
The weapons were sold out of his business in downtown Los Angeles and for possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi handed down a sentence to Hovik Dagesian, 42, of Burbank.
According to court documents, Dagesian pleaded guilty in September 2023 to one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
From October 2020 to January 2021, Dagesian illegally sold 11 firearms, including firearms not bearing serial numbers and weapons that are commonly referred to as “ghost guns.”
The firearms Dagesian illegally sold included a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15-type rifle with no serial number, and a 9mm handgun. Dagesian also admitted to selling methamphetamine to a buyer on October 30, 2020.
The illegal firearm and drug sales took place at Dagesian’s hookah business in downtown Los Angeles.
In total, Dagesian sold $34,250 worth of firearms and methamphetamine to a buyer.
In January 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Dagesian’s business. During the search, law enforcement seized 163.3 grams (5.8 ounces) of methamphetamine, a digital scale, approximately 215 rounds of ammunition, and many firearms he was willing to sell, including a sawed-off shotgun.
Dagesian has never been licensed as a dealer, manufacturer or importer of firearms.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Los Angeles Police Department investigated this matter.