A Californian will be sentenced Nov. 13 after twice pleading guilty to smuggling guns to the Philippines.
Richard Dean Pedrioli, 46, Modesto, Calif., was charged in a new case with smuggling 70 handguns without obtaining an export license after Dominque Adams, 22, of Salt Lake City, was arrested at a Manila airport Aug. 19. She was accused of bringing the guns into the country in six crates marked as auto parts.Her contention that Pedrioli tricked her into unknowingly transporting the weapons into the Philippines was supported by U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officials who said he had duped other women into running guns for him.
Adams was released on $8,200 bail pending court action in Manila. Her attorney in the Philippines, Renon Cruz, said he hopes to convince authorities there that she had no intent to possess firearms illegally, a requirement for her to be criminally liable under law in the Philippines.