A Mexican national living illegally in Nacogdoches has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing a machinegun, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs for the Eastern District of Texas.
Joel Bustamante Moreno, 26, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession or transfer of a machinegun and received a 120-month sentence from U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on September 10, 2025.
Court records show that Moreno was identified during an investigation into the distribution of machinegun conversion devices (MCDs) in Nacogdoches in December 2023. MCDs are small mechanisms that can convert a semi-automatic firearm into a fully automatic weapon by attaching to the rear of the slide. Federal law defines a machinegun as any weapon capable of firing more than one shot automatically with a single trigger pull.
On February 1, 2024, Moreno sold both a pistol and an AR-style rifle that had been converted into fully automatic weapons. He also sold two 100-round drum magazines and one 30-round magazine for the AR-style rifle, three pistol magazines, and live ammunition. After this transaction, law enforcement tried to arrest Moreno; he fled at high speed, overturned his vehicle, and continued fleeing on foot before being found hiding inside a residence. SWAT officers were called in and took him into custody.
Further investigation determined that Moreno was a Mexican national without legal permission to be in the United States.
The case is part of Operation Take Back America, which is an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at addressing illegal immigration and targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations through efforts such as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The investigation involved the Nacogdoches Police Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donald S. Carter prosecuted the case.
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