For Immediate Release
December 22, 2011
Robert E. O’Neill, United States Attorney
Contact: William Daniels
(813) 274-6388
william.daniels@usdoj.gov

Orlando Man Sentenced to 30 Years for Possession of a Machine Gun and Grenade Launcher While Operating a Marijuana Grow House

Orlando, Florida – U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill announces that U.S. District Judge Gregory A. Presnell today sentenced Daniel Martinez (29, Orlando) to 30 years in federal prison for manufacturing marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a machine gun. Martinez was found guilty by a jury on August 10, 2011.

According to testimony and evidence presented at trial, Orlando Police officers executed a search warrant at Martinez’s house on September 29, 2010. Inside, officers found a marijuana growing operation with an estimated street value of over $90,000. Officers also found a loaded, fully automatic machine gun, a loaded handgun with extra loaded magazines, and a grenade launcher.

This case was investigated by the Orlando Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Vincent S. Chiu.

It is another case prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods program – a nationwide, gun-violence reduction strategy led by ATF. United States Attorney Robert E. O’Neill, along with Virginia O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge, ATF, is coordinating the Project Safe Neighborhoods effort here in the Middle District of Florida in cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement officials.
###

http://www.atf.gov/press/releases/20...row-house.html