Bouquet Canyon man pleads not guilty to federal gun charge

Federal prosecutors arraigned a Bouquet Canyon man Thursday on charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, according to an indictment from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Franz Grey, 57, of Saugus, pleaded not guilty to the single charge brought forth via a grand jury indictment, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, according to Ciaran Mcevoy, spokesman for the USAO.

“Jury trial scheduled for March 21 before U.S. District Judge Fernando M. Olguin in Los Angeles,” Mcevoy wrote in an email to The Signal.

Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies found Grey on Dec. 16 under a U-haul box truck that had been reported stolen by the company less than two weeks prior, according to a criminal complaint filed Dec. 29 and court records.

Grey is legally prohibited from possessing weapons due to a Jan. 3, 2008, conviction for hit-and-run resulting in injury or death and possession of a controlled substance.

The indictment listed thousands of rounds of various types of ammunition that allegedly were found in a gun safe within the home where Grey resided, and a criminal complaint notes that 10 firearms were found, some of which were reportedly manufactured out of state and had their serial number “obliterated.”

The case was initially investigated by the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office, which ultimately dismissed the charge in January after conversations with the USAO, according to a spokesman from the L.A. County DA.

The criminal complaint was signed by an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which received the case from the Sheriff’s Department.

Deputy Federal Public Defender Fermin C. Vargas is Grey’s criminal defense lawyer. He did not respond to a request for comment on the case Thursday.