More Guilty Pleas Entered in New Mexico Federal Firearms Trafficking Case
United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that six more defendants have pleaded guilty this week to federal charges in connection with the Columbus, New Mexico firearms trafficking investigation.
Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge William P. Lynch in Las Cruces, New Mexico:
- Vicente Carreon, age 27, of Columbus, pleaded guilty this morning to one count of conspiracy and one count of smuggling firearms into the United States. As a result, Ortega faces up to ten years in federal prison on the smuggling charge; up to five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge.
- Ian Garland, age 50, a federally licensed firearms dealer who did business as Chaparral Guns in Chaparral, New Mexico, pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of conspiracy and six counts of making false statements in the acquisition of firearms. As a result, Garland faces up to five years in federal prison per count. Garland remains in federal custody.
- Manuel Ortega, age 25, a resident of Palomas, Mexico, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to one count of conspiracy and one count of smuggling firearms into the United States. As a result, Ortega faces up to ten years in federal prison on the smuggling charge; up to five years in federal prison on the conspiracy charge.
- Miguel Carrillo, age 30, of Columbus, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one count of conspiracy, two counts of making false statements and two counts of smuggling firearms from the United States. As a result, Carrillo faces up to ten years in federal prison for each smuggling count; up to five years in federal prison on each of the remaining counts.
- Brenda and David Christy, age 54 and 55, respectively, of Deming, New Mexico, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to one–count Informations charging them with making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer. As a result, Brenda and David Christy face up to five years in federal prison.
To date, ten individuals have pleaded guilty to federal charges in connection with this investigation. No sentencing dates have been scheduled.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with assistance from the Comandante Chihuahua State Police in Palomas, Mexico and the Secretariat of Public Security in Juarez, Mexico. The U.S. Marshal’s Service, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, New Mexico State Police, Las Cruces Police Department, El Paso Police Department as well as other federal, state and local law enforcement agencies also provided assistance during the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by District of New Mexico Assistant United States Attorneys Nathan Lichvarcik and Michael Nammar.
###