After ATF raid, business owner gets 15 months for violating his probation

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – A Burke County business owner faces 15 months of confinement after being found in violation of his federal probation after his auto shop was raided by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

At a hearing Tuesday in federal court, Daniel Cates was found in violation of his probation stemming from his prior conviction in 2022.

The same judge in that case was the judge in this matter.

Twenty-four people showed up on Cates’ behalf at Tuesday’s hearing.

The sentencing details are as follows:

• 15 months of confinement followed by a supervised release of 12 months.
• Re-imposition of the original probation conditions.

“The victims are your family, your friends,” the judge told him. “Revocation is mandatory.”

Cates had more than 15 character references, two of which were sealed.

The whole proceeding took about an hour.

The government was really interested in two specific firearms.

One was an old AR 15 that had full auto function, which requires a tax stamp. Also of interest was another AR platform with a suppressor on it, which you need a tax stamp for. It was just a regular rifle, but it had a suppressor.

Cates’ attorney had suggested another probation.

With house monitoring and GPS tracking be the very minimum for this US code 18 35 65 class a violation. Two of the firearms were purchased after his initial conviction in 22 which my questions are who filled out the ATF form 4473, which if you forge any items on that form, it’s a separate felony violation not applying for a tax stamp as its own separate violation.   The lawyer, for Cates also mentioned something about having to address charges in the future, so maybe that’s what he’s talking about. I’m not sure.

ATF and the Department of Homeland Security said they found 45 weapons in Cates’ possession, 25 at Cates Firestone and 20 at his home, according to authorities. That included a rifle with a silencer and 6,000 rounds of ammunition found between both locations.

That was while he was on probation for involvement in a decades-long illegal gambling operation.