Guy Mena, Machine Gun Possession, Texas 2021

Men Sentenced to Combined 23+ Years for Selling Machine Gun, Silencer

Three men who sold a machine gun and silencer to an undercover ATF agent have been sentenced to more than 23 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.

Guy Mena, 34, and Stephen Kadlec, 39, were arrested and charged in November 2021. Mr. Kadlec pleaded guilty in January 2022 to transferring a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act and was sentenced in June to two years in federal prison. Mr. Mena pleaded guilty to transferring a firearm in violation of the NFA in December 2021 and, in a separate case in July 2022, to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine; he was sentenced last Thursday to a total of 14 ½ years in federal prison.

Their coconspirator Sergio Salgado, 37, was charged in May 2022. He also pleaded guilty to transferring a firearm in violation of the NFA and was sentenced in October to more than seven years in federal prison.

According to court documents, Mr. Mena offered to sell a confidential informant a firearm frame, two receivers – one semi-automatic and one fully-automatic – a silencer, and some firearm magazines for $6,000.

Accompanied by an undercover ATF agent, the confidential informant met Mr. Mena, Mr. Kadlec, and Mr. Salgado at a motel in Arlington on November 18, 2021. Mr. Kadlec showed the undercover agent the full-auto receiver, demonstrated how to swap the semi-auto receiver for the full-auto receiver on the firearm frame, outlined the functionality of the silencer, and explained how to toggle the selector switch to full-auto to turn the firearm into a machine gun.

The undercover agent handed over $6,000 and departed with the firearm, receivers, silencer, and magazines. Shortly after the ATF agent left the room, Texas DPS officers observed Mr. Mena, Mr. Kadlec, and Mr. Salgado exit the hotel room and get into a vehicle; when they pulled the vehicle over, they detained the three men and recovered the government funds.

Prior to the firearm transaction, Mr. Mena had sold more than 50 grams of methamphetamine to another confidential informant out of his apartment in Abilene.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation in cooperation with the Arlington Police Department, the Abilene Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s South Central Laboratory. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas prosecuted the firearms cases against all three defendants while Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden prosecuted the drug case against Mr. Mena.

Defendant: Guy Mena

Criminal Charges: Transferring a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act, Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine

City and State: Abilene, Texas

Arrest Date: November 2021

Sentence: 14 ½ years in federal prison

Dollar Amount: $6,000

Defendant: Stephen Kadlec

Criminal Charges: Transferring a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act

City and State: Arlington, Texas

Sentence Date: June 2022

Sentence: 2 years in federal prison

Defendant: Sergio Salgado

Criminal Charges: Transferring a firearm in violation of the National Firearms Act

City and State: Arlington, Texas

Sentence Date: October 2022

Sentence: More than 7 years in federal prison

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