RESEDA, CA – Julio Ernesto Lopez-Menendez, 27, is headed to federal prison for 12 years after admitting to running a dangerous one-stop shop for illegal firearms and narcotics in the San Fernando Valley. Lopez-Menendez was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge André Birotte Jr. after pleading guilty in February to distribution of methamphetamine and engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license.
The investigation, spearheaded by the DEA’s High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Southern California Drug Task Force, the FBI, the ATF, and the LAPD, revealed Lopez-Menendez hawked at least 89 firearms and ammunition over nine transactions between January and April 2022. A chilling 62 of those firearms were “ghost guns” – untraceable weapons lacking serial numbers, favored by criminals seeking to evade law enforcement. Even more concerning, four of the guns were short-barreled rifles with barrels illegally shortened below the 16-inch federal requirement, and were never registered.
According to court documents, Lopez-Menendez was acutely aware of the illegality of his actions. During a February 2022 phone call with a buyer, he acknowledged that possessing short-barreled rifles was “super illegal.” Despite this admission, he continued to peddle the dangerous weapons, operating completely outside the bounds of the law. He had no federal firearms license and no registered firearms to his name, making his operation entirely clandestine.
But the firearms weren’t Lopez-Menendez’s only illicit commodity. He also flooded the streets with methamphetamine, selling a total of 17 pounds of the drug in four separate transactions. One sale alone involved 4.2 kilograms – over 9 pounds – of meth, demonstrating the scale of his narcotics operation. The man wasn’t just selling guns; he was fueling addiction and contributing to the region’s drug crisis.
Lopez-Menendez has been in federal custody since April 2022, awaiting sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Chou of the Violent and Organized Crimes Section successfully prosecuted the case. The 144-month sentence sends a clear message: those who profit from the illegal gun trade and drug trafficking will face serious consequences.
The case highlights the growing threat of ghost guns and the dangerous intersection of firearms and drug trafficking. Authorities warn that these untraceable weapons are increasingly turning up at crime scenes, posing a significant challenge to public safety. While Lopez-Menendez is now behind bars, the fight against illegal gun and drug trafficking continues on the streets of Los Angeles and beyond.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Weapons|Drug Trafficking|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Press Release
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