Former soldier from Fort Bliss, Texas, sentenced to 6 months in federal prison for stealing and importing controlled military equipment for resale

EL PASO, Texas — A former U.S. Army soldier was sentenced to six months in federal prison Friday followed by six months home confinement for stealing about $30,000 of controlled military equipment and violating International Trafficking in Arms Regulations (ITAR).

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents investigated this case.

Former U.S. Army Sergeant Dexroy Germaine Hamilton, 31, was sentenced Oct. 31. Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones also ordered Hamilton to perform no fewer than 100 hours of community service and be placed under supervised release for three years after he completes his prison term.

Hamilton pleaded guilty Aug. 22 to conspiracy to commit theft of government property and smuggling goods into the United States. By pleading guilty, Hamilton admitted that while on deployment in Afghanistan between July 2013 and March 2014, he conspired with others to steal U.S. military munitions property including optical sights, night-vision equipment and infrared lasers, which he then transported to the United States for resale.

On March 20, 2014, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at his El Paso home where they recovered five AN/PVS-14 night-vision monocular devices, 52 PMAG 5.56 x 42mm ammunition magazines, and 19 M-16 magazines, which were government owned.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg McDonald, Western District of Texas, prosecuted this case.