RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A man previously accused by the Richmond Police Department of plotting a July 4 mass shooting in 2022 has been found guilty of a lesser charge in federal court.
Julio Alvarado Dubon’s Columbia Street home was searched on July 1, 2022. Richmond Police said they had received a tip from a co-worker of Rolman Balcarcel-Bavagas — the other man accused of plotting a mass shooting in the city — that Dubon had an AR-15 and multiple other weapons and was planning on “shooting up a large gathering event on July 4th,” according to court documents.
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, Dubon pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by an individual illegally and unlawfully in the United States. He now faces a potential maximum of 15 years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.
While the arrests of Dubon and Balcarcel-Bavagas gained national attention at the time — due to the claim that a mass shooting had been averted — neither of them was ever charged with crimes linked to the alleged plot.
In October 2022, federal prosecutors admitted they lacked evidence to prove the two men were “planning to shoot people at a big event on the 4th of July or commit other acts of violence.”
A month later, in November, Balcarcel-Bavagas was sentenced to five-and-a-half months in prison on a single immigration charge to which he pleaded guilty.
Dubon is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25, 2024.
