DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Eastern District of California

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Benjamin B. Wagner
, United States Attorney
Contact: Lauren Horwood

Stockton Man Pleads Guilty to Drug and Gun Charges as a Result of Operation Gideon IV

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Luis Magana, 20, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to dealing firearms without a license and to distribution of methamphetamine in a case resulting from Operation Gideon IV, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

Operation Gideon IV was an ATF surge that targeted violent criminals in an effort to dismantle criminal organizations operating in Stockton. Experienced undercover ATF special agents from throughout the U.S. were deployed with local ATF agents and Stockton police officers to conduct covert investigations into some of the most violent criminals in Stockton and surrounding areas. Operation Gideon IV ran from January to April 19, 2013, charging 55 individuals and seizing 84 firearms.

“Today’s guilty plea represents another win for law enforcement in successfully removing and locking up another gun trafficker and preventing collateral damage to innocent victims,” said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Joseph M. Riehl. “These traffickers are the primary source and supply of arming violent criminals in our communities.”

According to court documents, special agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives conducted an extensive investigation into Magana’s gun and drug dealing activities. During the course of this investigation, undercover special agents purchased and seized more than 2.9 kilograms of methamphetamine from Magana. Additionally, although Magana did not have a license to sell firearms, Magana sold undercover special agents five firearms during four separate transactions in February, March, and April, 2013.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Christiaan Highsmith is prosecuting the case.

Magana was taken into custody today after entering his guilty plea. His co-defendants, Erik Moreno and Juvenal Junez, both of Stockton, have already entered guilty pleas on drug distribution charges.

Magana is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Lawrence K. Karlton on April 1, 2014. Magana faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine for the drug distribution conviction. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the gun conviction. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

 

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San Francisco Field Division