A detention hearing is scheduled Thursday for a previously convicted San Fernando Valley man facing federal drug and weapons charges, including the illegal possession of an unregistered 40mm grenade launcher.
Edmond Tumasyan, 38, of Sun Valley, was charged in an 11-count federal indictment with possession with intent to distribute heroin and the illegal possession of multiple firearms, including an AR-15-type rifle with no serial number — commonly referred to as a ghost gun — machine guns, handguns and silencers, many of them unregistered — and the grenade launcher.
The drug trafficking offense alleges he possessed about 8.3 pounds of heroin for sale, the indictment states.
The firearms seized from Tumasyan’s home in 2019 were illegally possessed because some allegedly were used in furtherance of drug trafficking and because Tumasyan is a convicted felon, having been previously convicted of crimes involving burglary, false checks and narcotics, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Tumasyan has been in federal custody since his arrest by members of the Eurasian Organized Crime Task Force three years ago, court papers show.
He is scheduled for trial July 25 in Los Angeles federal court.
If convicted as charged, Tumasyan would face up to life in federal prison, prosecutors noted.