On Friday, Patrick Germain (45), a resident of Evanston, Illinois, pleaded guilty to attempting to illegally export firearms and ammunition to Haiti.

Germain confessed to trying to export to Haiti via Miami, 16 handguns, 5 rifles and ammunition, according to the US prosecutor's office.

Germain built a crate, filled it with firearms and ammunition and hid the crate in a van, prosecutors said. The van was delivered to a shipping company in Miami, but law enforcement officials seized the weapons before being shipped to Haiti.

Patrick Germain incurs a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and will appear on January 29, 2019, to know the length of his sentence.

SL/ HaitiLibre