Thread: Man pleads guilty in gun smuggling case

Man pleads guilty in gun smuggling case

Posted: May 15, 2012

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - A second man has pleaded guilty in Mississippi to charges he tried to smuggle guns from the United States to Mexico.

Jose Luis Santos-Garcia was charged with attempting to smuggle two pistols, three bullet-proof vests and stolen four-wheelers to Mexico. He has pleaded guilty Monday.

His nephew, Javier Molina, had already pleaded guilty in the case.

Santos-Garcia was arrested on Interstate 10 in Jackson County on Aug. 28. Authorities placed a GPS tracking device on the truck. About two months later, Molina was pulled over in the same truck on I-10 and arrested with nine rifles, five shotguns, eight pistols and ammunition.

Man pleads guilty in gun smuggling case - WLBT.com - Jackson, MS

Co-Conspirators Plead Guilty to Smuggling Firearms
Both Men Stopped on I-10 in Jackson County

From: US Attorney 5/14/12 GCN

Gulfport, Miss. - Jose Luis Santos-Garcia, 44, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, pled guilty in federal court today to conspiring to smuggle munitions to Mexico, announced U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis and Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in New Orleans.

Santos-Garcia, a legal permanent resident of the United States and citizen of Mexico, was stopped on I-10 westbound in Jackson County, August 31, 2011, with 2 concealed handguns and 3 flak jackets. On November 1, 2011, his co-conspirator, Javier Molina, a U.S. citizen, was stopped westbound on I-10 in Jackson County, with 8 pistols, 9 rifles, 5 shotguns, 16 magazines, 6 gun stocks, 5 shotgun barrels, 2 scopes and 902 rounds of ammunition.

“By breaking the export laws of the United States, this defendant and his coconspirator could have endangered the lives of countless people once these weapons reached the black market in Mexico,” said ICE HSI Special Agent in Charge Raymond R. Parmer Jr., “This case is a direct result of HSI, the Jackson County Criminal Interdiction Team, and the Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) working together to promote public safety not only here in the United States, but also in foreign lands.” Parmer oversees HSI activities for the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Both defendants will be sentenced on August 2, 2012, and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.U.S. Attorney Davis praised the efforts of the agents from the Department of Homeland Security HSI, the Jackson County Criminal Interdiction Team, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms who investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams who prosecuted the case.

North Carolina Man Pleads Guilty

I.C.E. News Release

May 16, 2012
Gulfport, MS

North Carolina man pleads guilty in weapons smuggling conspiracy

GULFPORT, Miss. — A resident of Winston-Salem, N.C., pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to conspiring to smuggle munitions to Mexico, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Jackson County Criminal Interdiction Team and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Jose Luis Santos-Garcia, 44, a legal permanent resident of the United States and citizen of Mexico, was stopped on I-10 westbound in Jackson County, Aug. 31 with two concealed handguns and three flak jackets. On Nov.1 his co-conspirator, Javier Molina, a U.S. citizen, was stopped westbound on I-10 in Jackson County, with eight pistols, nine rifles, five shotguns, 16 magazines, six gun stocks, five shotgun barrels, two scopes and 902 rounds of ammunition.

"By breaking the export laws of the United States, this defendant and his co-conspirator could have endangered the lives of countless people once these weapons reached the black market in Mexico," said Raymond R. Parmer Jr, special agent in charge of HSI New Orleans. "This case is a direct result of HSI, the Jackson County Criminal Interdiction Team and the ATF working together to promote public safety not only here in the United States, but also in foreign lands." Parmer oversees HSI activities for the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Both defendants will be sentenced August 2, 2012, and face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

U.S. Attorney Gregory K. Davis, Southern District of Mississippi, praised the efforts of the officers from HSI, the Jackson County Criminal Interdiction Team, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who investigated the case, and Assistant United States Attorney Annette Williams who prosecuted the case.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is the largest investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE is a 21st century law enforcement agency with broad responsibilities for a number of key homeland security priorities. For more information, visit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. To report suspicious activity, call 1-866-347-2423 or complete our tip form.

U.S. Dept of Homeland Security

North Carolina man pleads guilty in weapons smuggling conspiracy