ALBUQUERQUE - The owner of a gun shop in Hobbs, N.M., and his parents, who assisted their son in operating the gun shop, pleaded guilty this afternoon in Las Cruces federal court to violating the federal firearms laws, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Steven C. Yarbrough and Special Agent in Charge Bernard J. Zapor of the Phoenix Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Carlos Jonathan Cruz, 31, the owner of Hobbs Satellite Company Guns & Ammo, and his parents, Carlos Carlon Cruz, 60, and Norma M. Cruz, 56, were indicted in June 2013 and charged with violating the federal firearms laws by making false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms by an individual who was acting as a “straw purchaser" and buying firearms on behalf of others. Carlos Jonathan Cruz also was charged with unlawfully selling thousands of rounds of ammunition to an alien illegally in the United States, unlawfully possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun, and unlawfully possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers.
During today’s proceedings, Carlos Jonathan Cruz pled guilty to a felony information charging him with (1) making false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms by an individual who was acting as a “straw purchaser," and (2) unlawfully possessing firearms with obliterated serial numbers. In entering his guilty plea, Carlos Jonathan Cruz admitted that on April 23, 2013, he knowingly aided and abetted the making of a false statement by a straw purchaser who bought two firearms at his gun shop for an individual who was working as a confidential informant for the ATF. Cruz also admitted possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number on May 29, 2013.
Carlos Jonathan Cruz’s parents each pled guilty to a felony information charging them with (1) making false statements in connection with the acquisition of firearms by an individual who was acting as a “straw purchaser," and (2) unlawfully selling ammunition to a prohibited person. In entering their guilty pleas, Carlos Carlon Cruz and Norma Cruz admitted that on April 9, 2013, they sold 2,500 rounds of ammunition to an alien who was illegally in the United States. They also admitted that on April 23, 2013, they knowingly aided and abetted the making of a false statement by a straw purchaser who bought two firearms at his gun shop for an individual who was working as a confidential informant for the ATF.
Under the terms of their plea agreements, Carlos Jonathan Cruz and Carlos Carlon Cruz will be sentenced to prison terms not to exceed 41 months of imprisonment and Norma Cruz will be sentenced to a prison term not to exceed 30 months of imprisonment. They also are required to forfeit approximately 165 firearms, 25,703 rounds of ammunition and six silencers. Their sentencing hearings have yet to be scheduled.
This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Hobbs Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cynthia L. Weisman is handling the forfeiture proceedings.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
