Lake in the Hills man accused of possessing defaced guns and ammo pleads guilty, gets prison time

One of two men charged last year with having defaced handguns and large-capacity magazines in their Lake in the Hills home pleaded guilty Wednesday to unlawfully possessing a firearm while under the age of 21 and was sentenced to 2½ years in prison.

Alberto Pietri-Molina, 21, is required to serve half his prison term. After that, he will serve six months of mandatory supervised release, according to the judgment order entered in McHenry County court and signed by Judge Tiffany Davis.

In exchange for his guilty plea, other charges were dismissed, including five additional counts of illegally possessing firearms stemming from the alleged possession of two handguns with removed serial numbers, as well as ammunition, despite having a felony conviction and being younger than 21.

Jordan Aristud, also 21, was charged with possessing one firearm with serial number removed while under the age of 21 and while having an aggravated assault conviction, according to the complaint. Aristud pleaded guilty to the firearms possession charge in March. He was sentenced to two years probation and 50 hours of community service, court records show.

Pietri-Molina and Aristud each had also faced felony charges of possessing alprazolam and petty violations for possessing the large-capacity magazines, according to the complaints. Those charges also were dismissed, court records show.

On April 14, 2023, the McHenry County SWAT team responded to assist in the execution of a search warrant at the residence where the two men lived, Lake in the Hills police said at the time. Pietri-Molina and Aristud were arrested before the SWAT team executed the search warrant, Lake in the Hills Police Department said.

Pietri-Molina, who is in custody of Cook County jail, has pending gun-related charges in Chicago, Cook County records show.