CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A St. Albans man pleaded guilty in Charleston federal court Tuesday to two federal gun crimes in connection with another federal drug trafficking crime.
Christopher Ayash, 47, admitted a to possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and to possession of six firearms.
Ayash further admitted to arranging for a shipment of oxycodone and coca leaves, which are used to manufacture cocaine, through the mail. A federal search warrant conducted at Ayash’s St. Albans residence last October revealed a secret room hidden behind a fireplace.
The secret room housed a laboratory set up by Ayash to manufacture cocaine and other drugs. Authorities seized over 60 firearms from the residence, including fully automatic weapons, silencers, and the handgun with an obliterated serial number.
Ayash admitted that six of the guns belonged to him. Ayash agreed to forfeit $300,000 to the government, and demolish a strip club he owned in St. Albans.
Ayash faces up to five years in prison for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and at least five years to life in prison for the other gun crime when he is sentenced on July 11.