LUBBOCK, TX – A mother-daughter duo is headed to federal prison after admitting to participating in a gun-running scheme benefiting a Mexican drug cartel. Cassandra Gonzalez, 51, and her daughter, Imajah Tierra Cervantes, 29, were sentenced this week in connection with the illegal purchase and delivery of a rifle intended for criminal use south of the border.
The scheme unraveled after Gonzalez attempted to buy a rifle from a Lubbock firearms dealer on December 30, 2022. She falsely certified on the ATF Form 4473 that she was the true buyer and provided an incorrect address, claiming residence in Garland, Texas, while actually living in Lubbock. Alerted by the discrepancy, ATF agents intervened before the transaction could finalize, but Gonzalez planned to return on January 4, 2023, to complete the purchase.
When the pair returned, Gonzalez paid for the rifle, and Cervantes physically carried it out of the store. Agents immediately intercepted them, seizing the weapon and questioning both women separately. While Gonzalez initially maintained she was buying the gun for herself, Cervantes quickly confessed the truth: a man from Dallas, linked to a Mexican drug cartel, had provided the funds, and the pair stood to receive $2,000 for their participation. She admitted to a prior delivery of a firearm to the same individual, knowing he intended to use it in drug trafficking activities.
Faced with her daughter’s damning testimony, Gonzalez admitted to knowingly lying on the federal form, confirming she was acting as a straw purchaser for the cartel operative. This case marks one of the first convictions in the Northern District of Texas under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, signed into law last year, which aims to crack down on illegal gun trafficking.
Cassandra Gonzalez pleaded guilty in June to making false statements during the firearm purchase and received a 6-month federal prison sentence in October. Imajah Cervantes, who pleaded guilty to straw purchasing in July, received a harsher sentence of 12 years and one day in prison, handed down today. The sentences underscore the seriousness with which federal authorities are treating the flow of weapons to Mexican cartels.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Dallas Field Division – Lubbock Resident Agency, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew McLeod leading the prosecution. The case highlights the ongoing efforts to disrupt the supply of firearms fueling violence and drug trafficking along the U.S.-Mexico border.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Weapons|Organized Crime|Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Press Release
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