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Man faces federal gun charges after claiming Japanese restaurant was home address

Frans Junyarto, 43, charged in October

SAN ANTONIO – An Indonesian national faces two gun charges after federal investigators said that he falsely listed an east San Antonio Japanese restaurant as his home address earlier this year.

Frans Junyarto, 43, has been charged with making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and gross possession of a firearm by someone illegally in the United States.

According to a federal criminal complaint obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders, Junyarto used a Texas hunting license and U.S. Customs paperwork to buy three handguns at a Selma Academy Sports + Outdoors store on Oct. 12.

Academy employees described Junyarto as "agitated and impatient" as he waited for the firearms transaction record form to be processed for the $1,602.07 purchase.

After Junyarto passed the criminal background check and left the store with the guns, Academy employees looked up the location he listed as his home address, according to the complaint.

The address, 2203 SE Loop 410, came back as a restaurant called Habachi Buffet.

Store employees then contacted an investigator with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

"The lying on the form is indicative of something often more sinister," said David Robison, resident agent in charge of the ATF's San Antonio office.

The scheme to illegally buy firearms is often referred to by federal agents as a "lie and buy."

"People use that tactic to acquire firearms when they should not be able to acquire firearms," Robison said.

He said that these weapons often end up in the hands of "violent offenders, trigger pullers, cartels, people that are going to use them in violent acts."

Robison referred questions specifically about the Junyarto case to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Sources said Junyarto's foreign visitor paperwork, which he used while purchasing the handguns, was possibly forged.

The criminal complaint also indicates it was likely not the first time Junyarto used a hunting license to purchase guns.

Employees inside Habachi Buffet recognized Junyarto as soon as KSAT 12 pulled out a picture of him taken last month following his arraignment at federal court.

A manager of the restaurant reached on the phone by The Defenders said that Junyarto briefly worked at the restaurant.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett said the Junyarto case illustrates the need for more comprehensive background checks during firearm purchases.

"There is a need for significant change. This Congress has been unwilling to do it. We have moments of silence followed by months of inaction," said Doggett, crediting the Academy employees who contacted federal authorities.

According to recent figures released by the U.S. Justice Department, federal criminal prosecutions for fiscal year 2017 grew 10.8 percent.


About the Author
Dillon Collier headshot

Emmy-award winning reporter Dillon Collier joined KSAT Investigates in September 2016. Dillon's investigative stories air weeknights on the Nightbeat and on the Six O'Clock News. Dillon is a two-time Houston Press Club Journalist of the Year and a Texas Associated Press Broadcasters Reporter of the Year.

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