Federal authorities have indicted four individuals in Asheville on firearms and immigration charges as part of Operation Take Back America, according to an announcement from U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. The initiative is a nationwide effort aimed at addressing violent crime, illegal immigration, and the activities of cartels and transnational criminal organizations.
A grand jury in Asheville returned indictments against several defendants. Justin Allen Owenby, 27, of Asheville, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm. Prosecutors allege that Owenby possessed a Glock 48, 9mm pistol while having prior felony convictions.
Gregory Lee Pettit, 51, of Candler, North Carolina, faces charges for possessing a grenade not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Pettit is also accused of possessing a firearm while being an unlawful user addicted to a controlled substance.
William Stanley Ellwood, 38, from Cherokee, North Carolina, has been charged with possession of an unregistered firearm silencer and receiving and possessing a silencer without a serial number.
Rafael Martinez-Reano, 35, of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, is charged with illegal reentry into the United States after being deported twice in 2018 near Hildago, Texas.
All defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson expressed gratitude to multiple agencies involved in the investigations leading to these charges: "In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, and Emergency Removal Operations, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol, the North Carolian Department of Public Safety Alcohol Law Enforcement, the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cherokee Indian Police Department for their respective investigations that led to the charges."
The cases will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.
Operation Take Back America uses resources from both Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) within the Department of Justice to coordinate efforts against violent crime and organized criminal activity across communities nationwide.
