U.S. Department of Justice
United States Attorney
District of Arizona
www.justice.gov/usao/az

For Immediate Release
Thursday, May 19, 2011

Dennis K. Burke, United States Attorney
Contact: Robbie Sherwood, Public Affairs
(602) 514-7573
robert.sherwood@usdoj.gov

Prohibited Possessor Recruiting Others to Buy Firearms Charged with 25 Gun Counts

PHOENIX — A federal grand jury on Wednesday returned a 25–count Superseding Indictment against Jose Sauceda–Cuevas, 31, of Sinaloa, Mexico, on a variety of gun trafficking charges. The indictment alleges two separate Conspiracies to Make a False Statement in Connection with the Acquisition of Firearms, eight substantive counts of False Statements, five counts of Aggravated Identity Theft, five counts of Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm and five counts Felon in Possession of a Firearm.

This prosecution is part of a joint investigation made public in February between Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. There are four other indictments related to this matter for a total of 17 defendants charged in five separate cases involving over 300 weapons — mostly AK–47–type rifles and automatic pistols — seized here, in Mexico and in Texas. The weapons had been bought by “straw purchasersâ€