A 27-year-old man from McAllen, Texas, has been ordered to serve more than eight years in the Bureau of Prisons for his role in trafficking AK-47 variant rifles to Mexico.
Angel Aquino-Pineda pleaded guilty before Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head on March 26, 2014, for his involvement in the firearms trafficking ring.
In handing down the 100-month sentence, Judge Head observed that the firearms in Aquino-Pineda’s possession were ‘weapons of war.’ The court further expressed relief that the assault rifles were intercepted, as there was simply no way to know how many lives they would have taken.
In 2013, the Kingsville Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force conducted a traffic stop on a truck driven by Aquino-Pineda in Kingsville and located 35 AK-47 variant rifles and $26,000 concealed in a false compartment. Seven of the rifles had obliterated serial numbers. Aquino-Pineda admitted his role was to transport the firearms from Houston to McAllen. The firearms would then be transported to Mexico.
Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) traced the firearms to Houston purchasers Mary Bel Deanda, 39, Martha Gonzales, 41, and Roberto Santana Mears, 22, who admitted they were ‘straw purchasers’ for Javier Resendez, 29. Resendez indicated Abel Lopez, 34, and Arturo Garcia, 30, recruited him to purchase firearms for Lopez, and the firearms would be taken to Mexico. Resendez then recruited Deanda and Gonzales to ‘straw purchase’ the firearms on his behalf. Mears admitted he was also a ‘straw purchaser’ for Lopez.
Aquino-Pineda’s sentence was the result of a joint investigation by the ATF and the Kingsville Specialized Crimes and Narcotics Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hugo R. Martinez and Jeffrey D. Preston are prosecuting the case.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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