Two found with AK-47s in Newport plead guilty to weapons charges, get year in jail

Two people who police say admitted to smuggling seven AK-47 assault rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition through Orange County for a Mexican drug cartel pleaded guilty Monday to felony weapons charges.

An Orange County Superior Court judge sentenced Heather Magun Gurule, 30, and Andrew John Cardiel Jr., 42, to one year in jail and additional supervision after their release.

Gurule must submit to four months of supervision, and Cardiel will be supervised for a year, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Police arrested the pair Nov. 14 in Newport Beach during a traffic stop because of an expired registration on their van.

When officers searched the vehicle, they found the AK-47s and six 30-round high-capacity magazines, two 10-round magazines and more than 350 rounds of 7.62-caliber ammunition, according to police.

The guns were modified to fire fully automatically, police said. One of the guns was stolen, and the barrel had been shortened on another, authorities said.

The defendants had been headed to Mexico, according to a request filed by prosecutors to increase their bail.

“They admitted they were transporting the guns to the U.S. border for a cartel,” an officer wrote in the filing. “Both are possibly a flight risk and are attempting to bail out of jail.”

As part of a plea agreement, Cardiel pleaded guilty to possession of an assault weapon and transporting a machine gun.

Gurule pleaded guilty to the same charges and to additional felonies for possession of a short-barreled rifle and possession of large-capacity magazines.

Prosecutors dropped some charges in exchange for the guilty pleas.

Cardiel and Gurule were previously convicted of felonies in San Bernardino County, according to court records.