man sentenced to 14 years in prison for possession of machine guns and drug offenses | USAO-NDTX

An Irving man was sentenced today to 14 years in federal prison for possession of multiple unregistered machine gun conversion claws as well as numerous drug-related crimes, said North Texas District Attorney Chad E. Meacham.

Ramon Navarro III, 23, pleaded guilty in March to four counts of unregistered firearms and eight counts of distributing controlled substances. Because the government did not offer Mr. Navarro a plea deal, he openly pleaded the charges against him, with no assurances as to the jail term prosecutors would recommend to the judge. He was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Sam A Lindsay.

According to court documents, Mr. Navarro, who used the alias “Trae Alvarez”, admitted that he had four machine gun conversion triggers, three-piece devices designed to convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns, all without serial number and unknown origin. It also had six Glock pistols, each with a built-in conversion trigger, turning guns into working machine guns.

(Unlike semi-automatic firearms, machine guns – weapons capable of firing more than once, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger – are generally illicit for civilians under the National Firearms Act.)

None of the firearms were registered in Mr. Navarro’s name in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Registry, he admitted. He also admitted to having trafficked in cocaine and heroin.

“This investigation is an example of the ATF’s unwavering commitment to working with the Dallas Police Department and all of our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to combine resources to tackle violent crime. , disrupt gun trafficking and ultimately create safer communities, ”said Jamey VanVliet, deputy special agent in charge of the Dallas Field Division of the ATF.

The Dallas Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Dallas Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Requénez is pursuing the case with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker.

This case was prosecuted as part of Project Guardian, a Justice Department initiative to reduce gun violence by enforcing federal gun laws through coordination between the federal government and law enforcement. state and local.