Sun An-tso (孫安佐), the son of Taiwanese celebrities Sun Peng (孫鵬) and Di Ying (狄鶯), is to be deported and permanently barred from the US for possessing firearms, a federal district court in Pennsylvania ruled on Monday.
Sun An-tso, who was arrested in March after threatening to shoot up his school, is expected to be deported within four to six weeks.
In a sentencing hearing at the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the 18-year-old pleaded guilty to one count of being an alien in possession of ammunition in contravention of 18 US Code 922 (g).
Photo: AP
He was sentenced to time served, about five-and-a-half months, and required to forfeit the ammunition in his possession, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a statement.
Judge Nitza Quinones Alejandro ordered the teen be transferred to the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and removed from the US, the statement said.
“Under federal law, today’s conviction will operate as a permanent bar to re-entry to the United States,” it said.
During the hearing, Sun An-tso apologized for the trouble he had caused his parents, the US and Taiwan.
However, the judge interrupted his statement, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
“The word is not trouble for what you’ve brought to your family,” the paper quoted Quinones as saying. “You have brought them shame, which is an even higher offense.”
Sun Peng and Di Ying attended the hearing.
Sun Peng pleaded for mercy for his son and apologized for the disturbance caused by the case to US society, and asked Quinones to give him a chance to rebuild his family and educate his son properly.
Quinones told the parents not to feel shame for their son’s mistake, saying that the incident was mainly the result of the boy’s immaturity and lack of understanding of the severity of verbal threats.
Sun An-tso was arrested on March 26 and charged with making terroristic threats after he threatened to carry out a mass shooting on May 1 at Bonner and Prendergast Catholic High School in Delaware, Pennsylvania.
He said he was only joking when he talked about shooting up the school.
Sun An-tso on June 4 pleaded guilty to making terrorist threats against the school and was sentenced to four to 23 months’ incarceration, with immediate parole and credit for time served.
He was released into ICE custody the following day and charged federally for being an alien in possession of ammunition.
He entered a guilty plea to the federal charge on Aug. 28.
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