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Katie Mulvaney, The Providence Journal April 17, 2023, 9:02 PM · 5 min read PROVIDENCE — A Burrillville man who littered his home with an arsenal of weapons and sent bullets careening off his neighbors’ house will serve 63 months in prison for failing to disclose his illegal use of drugs while purchasing 200-plus firearms.
U.S.District Court Judge Mary S.McElroy on Monday accepted the federal prosecutor’s recommendation in sentencing Ronald Andruchuk, 38, once a social worker on the cusp of earning his master’s degree, to 5 ¼ years behind bars for possessing a firearm as a drug user and two counts of making a false statement while purchasing a firearm.
“It’s only pure luck that someone else wasn’t killed by that behavior,” McElroy said of Andruchuk’s penchant for firing weapons all hours of the day and night at his new home in Burrillville.At one point, a neighbor captured on video bullets strafing off his own home, prompting the man to rush his own young children inside.
Andruchuk agreed to plead guilty in January and in exchange Assistant U.S.Attorney Ronald Gendron dismissed two other charges.
His lawyer, John L.Calcagni III said he was disappointed by the sentence.
“I cannot feel as though the uptick in gun violence played a role in today’s sentence, even if subconsciously.
I do not believe Mr.Andruchuk’s case calls for a 5-year jail sentence.I have represented countless others, convicted of more serious offenses such as drug trafficking and sex crimes who received significantly less prison terms,” he wrote.
“Mr.Andruchuk suffered from a long standing drug addiction, that prompted him to, among other things, squander hundreds of thousands of dollars earned from a crypto currency investment to expand his pre-existing firearms collection.
He was not thinking clearly when doing so,” Calcagni continued.
More on this case: Shots fired: Burrillville crypto-currency investor found with hundreds of guns
Guns found in the Burrillville home of crypto-currency investor Ronald Andruchuk.Defense argues drug use drove Andruchuk to purchase hundreds of guns using cryptocurrency earnings The emotional sentencing hearing presented incongruous portraits of a man on one hand driven by a mission to help others as a social worker, but on the other obsessed with purchasing firearms while being overtaken by drug and alcohol abuse.
At once a family man and committed father of three, Andruchuk also secreted drugs and alcohol, subjected his wife of nine years to a barrage of abusive texts, and littered his house with 229 unsecured guns and 25,000 rounds of ammunition.
Story continues “I still don’t know why you needed so many guns in such a short period of time,” McElroy said, referring to his purchase of 169 firearms between July 2021 and November 2021, all illegal by his not answering truthfully about his consumption of illicit drugs.
McElroy’s sentence evoked cries from the courtroom, which was filled with Andruchuk’s eldest son, wife, ex-wife, mother and other supporters.
“No …Your honor, people still shoot in my neighborhood day and night,” his wife yelled out before being ordered removed.
It was a steep decline for a man who dedicated his life to helping others, most recently at the DaVinci Center, and is one semester away from earning a master’s degree in social work from Rhode Island College.
“I regret ever letting drugs take hold of who I am as a person,” Andruchuk said, lamenting that he would forever be branded a felon, a mark that he fears will put his professional pursuits on hold.
According to sentencing memos, Andruchuk’s substance use disorder took root after the traumatic birth of his first son, when a coworker introduced him to Xanax and grew to encompass opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, and Adderall.
“All this has been a blessing in disguise.I finally have regained sobriety,” Andruchuk told the court.
Calcagni had asked that Andruchuk be sentenced to time served since his arrest last year at his Tarkiln Road home in Burrillville.
He cast Andruchuk’s penchant for buying firearms as an ill-advised investment strategy made while under the influence of substances and after he made $1 million in cryptocurrency earnings.
“The common thread is the drug use … What Ron really needs is is he needs help,” Calcagni said.
Authorities found guns all over the house, hidden behind wall clocks Federal agents seized more than 200 guns and a flame-thrower from Andruchuk’s home, where gunshots and projectiles were passing dangerously close to neighbors and drew the attention of Burrillville police.
Authorities found guns on the floor, on tables, in the closet, in drawers, in the bathroom and bedroom, all over the basement, hidden behind wall clocks and inside a piece of décor masquerading as a book, prosecutors said.
In March 2022, U.S.Magistrate Judge Patricia A.Sullivan determined that no condition or combination of conditions of his release could assure the safety of the community, his family or probation officers due to his history of violence, use of weapons, struggles with substance abuse and compulsive obsession with acquiring weapons.
The state last June lodged more charges against Andruchuk, including possession of a ghost gun; manufacturing a ghost gun; firing in a compact area; possession of drugs; domestic cyber harassment; and domestic disorderly conduct.
Andruchuk also faces charges in Massachusetts after he allegedly stashed a gun and drugs in the ceiling of a farm supply store.
Andruchuk was a one-time GOP candidate for the House of Representatives who ultimately failed to qualify for the ballot.
He moved to Burrillville drawn by its label as a Second Amendment sanctuary town.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Burrillville man get 63 months in prison for lying about drug use to buy guns.