ARLINGTON, TX – A trio of Texas men are off the streets and facing decades behind bars after a brazen attempt to peddle an illegal machinegun and silencer to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The operation, which also uncovered a separate methamphetamine distribution ring, culminated in sentences totaling more than 23 years in federal prison.
Guy Mena, 34, received the harshest penalty – 14 ½ years – after pleading guilty to transferring a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act (NFA) and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The methamphetamine charge stemmed from a prior sale of over 50 grams of the drug from his Abilene apartment. His co-conspirators, Stephen Kadlec, 39, and Sergio Salgado, 37, received two years and over seven years respectively, both for transferring a firearm in violation of the NFA.
The scheme unfolded on November 18, 2021, at an Arlington motel. According to court documents, Mena initially offered a confidential informant a complete package for $6,000: a firearm frame, two receivers – one semi-automatic and one fully-automatic – a silencer, and accompanying magazines. Kadlec, during the meeting with the undercover ATF agent, didn’t just show off the illegal hardware; he demonstrated how to convert the semi-automatic receiver to a fully-automatic one, effectively transforming the weapon into a machinegun. He also explained the silencer’s function and how to activate the full-auto capability. (Machineguns, unlike semi-automatic firearms, can fire multiple rounds with a single trigger pull and are generally illegal for civilians under federal law.)
The agent handed over the $6,000, secured the illegal weapons, and left the motel. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers were waiting nearby. They pulled over the vehicle carrying Mena, Kadlec, and Salgado, detaining the three and recovering the government funds. The investigation, a collaborative effort between ATF’s Dallas Field Division, Texas DPS, the Arlington Police Department, the Abilene Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s South Central Laboratory, quickly unraveled the full scope of the operation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas spearheaded the prosecution of the firearms cases against all three men, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden handled the drug case against Mena. The sentences handed down this week serve as a stark warning: those who seek to profit from the illegal arms trade – and the drugs that often accompany it – will face the full force of federal law. The ATF continues to aggressively target these dangerous combinations.
The case highlights the ongoing struggle to stem the flow of illegal firearms onto the streets and the constant threat posed by those willing to circumvent the law for profit. Authorities emphasize that the NFA exists to protect public safety, and violations will be vigorously prosecuted. Kadlec pleaded guilty in January 2022 and was sentenced in June. Salgado pleaded guilty in May 2022 and was sentenced in October.
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