San Diego

Four men pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of conspiracy and attempting to illegally export weapons to what they allegedly thought was a Mexican drug cartel.

The two U. S. citizens and two Mexican nationals made their pleas during an arraignment before U. S. Magistrate Barry Moskowitz.

The four were indicted last week by a federal grand jury, after federal officials had completed investigating the seizure of 97 Chinese-made AK-47 assault rifles Aug. 8 in San Diego.

The four people named in the indictment are Jose Luis Rodriguez, 27, a naturalized U. S. citizen living in San Diego; Adam Danile Hahn, 25, of Irvine; Mario Lopez-Gutierrez, a resident alien living in Chula Vista; and Enrique Gobea-Rabago, 25, an undocumented alien living in San Diego.

Hahn is the only one now free--on a $150,000 property bond, but Assistant U. S. Atty. David L. Katz said he expects Rodriguez to be released this weekend.

The four will again appear in federal court Sept. 5, when a judge will set a trial date.

The two-count indictment alleges that the semiautomatic rifles were legally purchased before the federally mandated restrictions on assault rifles, and that Hahn, part owner of Guns ‘N’ Stuff in Orange County, agreed to sell the unregistered weapons to his co-defendants, who allegedly thought they were going to sell the guns to Mexico-based drug lords.

Federal agents had arranged to purchase the rifles from Lopez and Rodriguez for $700 each. Also involved in the deal were 8,000 rounds of ammunition, according to investigators.

If convicted of both counts, each defendant could be sentenced to a maximum of 15 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine.