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Gun Smugglers Get 6 Years for Trafficking to Venezuela
Two Jacksonville men have been sentenced to six years in federal prison for smuggling firearms to Venezuela, announced the U.S. Department of Justice. Antonio Jose Melean Reyes, 29, and Gabriel Daniel Pinnace, 32, both of Jacksonville, pleaded guilty to charges related to the smuggling operation.
According to court documents, Reyes and Pinnace attempted to smuggle three firearms and 57 rounds of ammunition from Jacksonville to Venezuela on May 15, 2021. Reyes enlisted Pinnace to purchase the firearms from federally licensed dealers, knowing they would be sent to Venezuela. Pinnace falsified ATF Forms 4473, required for all firearms purchases, and attempted to destroy the serial numbers on the firearms.
Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami seized the three firearms, which included a Glock 17 pistol and two Smith and Wesson M&P 15 rifles, on May 22, 2021. Forensic technicians at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) restored the obliterated serial numbers, tracing the firearms back to Pinnace.
Pinnace reported the firearms as stolen on May 24, 2021, after learning law enforcement had seized them. However, a subsequent search of Reyes’s cellphone revealed conversations between Reyes and Pinnace discussing firearms trafficking to Venezuela. Agents also discovered a murder-for-hire plot involving Reyes, who asked Pinnace to hire a hitman for $15,000 to murder two intended victims over a $60,000 debt.
On August 26, 2023, ATF, HSI, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents conducted an undercover operation to purchase firearms directly from Pinnace. Pinnace met with an undercover agent and agreed to sell the agent three firearms, which he had purchased by falsifying another ATF Form 4473.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Aakash Singh as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program aimed at reducing violent crime and gun violence.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Weapons
- Source: Official Source ↗
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