Thread: Illegal Immigrant Says He Had No Idea There Were 15 Assault Rifles in His Trunk

Illegal Immigrant Says He Had No Idea There Were 15 Assault Rifles in His Trunk

dallasobserver.com
By Eric Nicholson Wed., Oct. 31 2012 at 11:01 AM

The Zastava PAPM70, from Yugoslavia. There were 10 of these in Gonzalez' trunk.

On Thursday afternoon, patrol officers performed a routine traffic stop in Oak Cliff. They found that the driver, 24-year-old Jesus Gonzalez, wasn't wearing a seat belt, was driving without a license, and was in the country illegally. They also found a little bonus prize: 15 AK-style assault rifles in the trunk.

See also: Dallas Police Found 15 Assault Rifles in a Suspects Car

Gonzalez was taken to jail on immigration charges. And yesterday, the Feds filed a criminal complaint yesterday providing a few more details about how Gonzalez came to be toting a large cache of assault weapons through Oak Cliff.

Gonzalez was at home in San Antonio on Thursday morning when he received a text asking if he wanted to make some money, he told investigators. The sender didn't specify how the money was to be made, but he needed the cash, so he drove to Dallas. En route to the Jack in the Box where he was supposed to meet up with someone driving a white SUV, he picked up Maria Isabel Deleon.

Deleon and Gonzalez are friends in San Antonio, she told the feds. When she learned he was in Dallas to "do some business," she asked him for a ride to Fort Worth to visit her daughter, who had just had surgery.

So off they went to Jack in the Box, where they found the white SUV and followed it to a nearby residence. There, two Hispanic men took several objects from the back of the SUV -- Gonzalez swears he had no idea what they were -- and put them in his trunk. They told him to drive back to San Antonio to await further instructions.

Gonzalez didn't make it that far. He was pulled over by police within a block. They discovered the shrink-wrapped weapons -- most of them were Zastava M70s from Yugoslavia -- and hauled him off to jail. He's being charged with being an illegal alien in possession of firearms, which carries a maximum 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Illegal Immigrant Says He Had No Idea There Were 15 Assault Rifles in His Trunk - Dallas - News - Unfair Park

Illegal immigrant arrested in Dallas, accused of having 15 AK-47 rifles




By Travis Hudson
thudson@dallasnews.com
10:38 am on October 31, 2012

A San Antonio man who says he was being paid to drive to Dallas, pick up unknown cargo, and drive back to San Antonio was arrested last week after police found 15 AK-47-type firearms in his car.

Jesus Gonzalez, 24, was stopped in Oak Cliff for not wearing a seat belt. During the traffic stop Gonzalez gave permission to search his vehicle where police found the guns in the trunk, almost all of which were shrink-wrapped.

Police also determined that Gonzalez did not have a valid drivers license and is in the country illegally.

In later questioning, Gonzalez told police he was being paid to drive to Dallas and meet up with another person. That person loaded unknown cargo into his vehicle and told Gonzalez drive back to San Antonio and await further instructions.

Gonzalez was officially charged with being an illegal immigrant in possession of firearms. He is being held as the case is pending and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail and a fine of $250,000.

Illegal immigrant arrested in Dallas, accused of having 15 AK-47 rifles | Crime Blog