News Releases and Statements

On April 16, 2019, a federal grand jury indicted Jason Scott Pedro, 37, of Clinton, Oklahoma, for illegally possessing a firearm Feb. 7, 2019, during a traffic stop. In particular, he possessed a lower receiver of an AR-15-style rifle, along with five, loaded high-capacity magazines.

Manual Lozano, 33, from Corpus Christi and member of the Sureno 13 gang was sentenced Thursday to nearly 11 years in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and carrying a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Miguel Sanchez Alvarez, aka Raul Laureano Sanchez Alvarez, 43, of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced Oct. 22 to 36 months in prison followed by 36 months of supervised release.

Over the course of the six-week investigation, law enforcement seized a total of 68 firearms – 30 of which were “ghost guns” or firearms that bore no serial numbers – more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition, and 1.3 pounds of methamphetamine.

Leng Lee, 35, of Sarcoxie, Missouri, was charged in a three-count superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield. The superseding indictment replaces an initial indictment returned on May 7, which charged Lee with being a felon illegally possessing firearms and ammunition.

Omran Ismail, 53, of Burbank, Illinois, was found guilty of both counts against him: one count of conspiracy to knowingly make a materially false statement to a licensed dealer and knowingly and willfully smuggle firearms on a common carrier, and one count of acquiring a firearm from a licensed dealer by means of a materially false statement.

Xiangyu Zhang, an illegal alien from China residing in La Marque, Texas, was sentenced to 61 months in federal prison on March 14; he received 37 months for the firearms conviction, and a mandatory consecutive 24 months for identity theft.

Juan A. Mexicano, 33, of Addison, Illinois, was sentenced Friday to seven years imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections. On Aug. 24, 2018, he pleaded guilty to nine felony counts of unlawfully using a weapon. In December 2018, he was also sentenced in California to more than 11 years in federal prison on a related cocaine trafficking conviction.

Xiangyu Zhang, 22, a resident of La Marque, Texas, illegally remained in the United States two years after his temporary visa expired.  He came to law enforcement’s attention in July 2018 when he threatened to use firearms to kill school children during an internet chat session on the Department of Veteran’s Affairs (VA) Crisis Line.  Zhang is a not a U.S. veteran.

On Dec. 11, James Randall Lee Ross, aka “Silver”, 45, became the latest defendant to be sentenced as a result of the investigation when he was ordered by U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, to serve 292 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Patrick Germain, 45, of Evanston, Illinois, pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly and fraudulently attempting to export firearms contrary to the laws and regulations of the United States. 

A jury found Katherine O'Neal, 43, guilty of smuggling goods from the United States on March 6, 2018. O'Neal was acquitted on other counts alleging false information on firearm-purchase forms and money laundering.

Alexis Lopez, 21, from Roma, Texas, was sentenced Aug. 28 by U.S. District Judge Randy Crane to 51 months in prison. The sentence was enhanced as the court took into consideration the fact that Lopez recruited and directed three straw purchasers to purchase a total of four .50 caliber rifles on his behalf.

Moises Alvarado, 19, pleaded guilty to the charges May 16, 2018. On Aug. 21, Alvarado was sentenced to 108 months for the synthetic cannabinoid offense, as well as a 120-month consecutive term for discharging a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. Following his prison term, Alvarado must also serve three years of supervised release. 

Navor Salas-Cruz, 45, a Mexican national residing on Kauai, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright today to 30 months of imprisonment for illegally reentering the United States after being deported, and for being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.

Santos Alfredo Paz-Ruiz, 42, was sentenced Aug. 13 to 33 months in federal prison for firearms violations.  On May 10, 2018, Paz-Ruiz pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien unlawfully possessing a firearm.

Majd Al Helwani, 24, of Fishers, Indiana, faces four felony counts for unlawfully purchasing and possessing firearms, as well as lying on federal forms while attempting to purchase another firearm.

According to law enforcement authorities, in June 2018, Task Force members with Laredo’s HIDTA were conducting surveillance of a downtown Laredo parking lot.  They witnessed an individual transfer boxes from one vehicle to another. Task Force members approached the individual and conducted a preliminary search inside the vehicle. During the search they discovered a large cache of weapons and other related merchandise.

Eric Daniel Doyle, a 37-year-old former Kalispell resident, admitted to supplying buyers from Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada with firearms and ammunition magazines when he was interviewed by law enforcement in September 2014.  In about February 2014, Doyle began selling firearms on a website to people in other countries.

Eduardo Ignacio Reyes, 41, from Corpus Christi, Texas, pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking after authorities seized a loaded 9mm handgun and a safe in his bedroom, which contained about 430 grams (15.1 ounces) of cocaine, $2,000 and 9mm ammunition.

Iulian Petre aka “Julian Petre,” 51, of Waterville, Maine, was sentenced following an August 2017 jury trial conviction on nine federal criminal charges including six counts of Receipt of a Firearm in Interstate Commerce and three counts of Shipment of a Firearm in Foreign Commerce. Petre, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Romania,  purchased and received firearms from out-of-state sellers intending to unlawfully export them.

Tobias Diggs, 24, of Chicago, Marvon Hamberlin, 39, of Chicago, and Joshua McClellan, 29, of Oak Lawn, Illinois, are charged with robbery and robbery conspiracy; transporting stolen goods; and using, carrying, and brandishing firearms during a crime of violence.

A Russian man was sentenced Thursday to 18 months in federal prison for attempting to unlawfully export more than $100,000 in firearm parts, ammunition and accessories, including parts designed for assault rifles.

Eddie Estuardo Galindo-Mendez, 43, a Guatemalan citizen, was charged last week in a related federal criminal complaint with one count of bank robbery. He was in federal custody on other charges at the time the complaint was filed.