Two National Guard soldiers pleaded guilty to firearms charges in federal court this week, admitting that they illegally sold numerous guns – including military-style assault rifles and ammunition believing that they were destined for Mexico.
Andrew Reyes and Jaime Casillas, who worked in the Army National Guard Armory in El Cajon, both, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchell Dembin to one count of dealing firearms without a license. Reyes also pleaded guilty to three counts of unlicensed transportation of firearms, admitting that he travelled to Texas on at least three occasions to purchase assault weapons which he then illegally transported to California and sold to an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on April 15, 2016 at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge M. James Lorenz.
According to his plea agreement, Reyes sold an AK-47 rifle on Sept 2, 2014; two AR-15 rifles and four high-capacity .223-caliber rifles magazines on December 3, 2014; and another AR-15 rifle on March 16, 2015 – all to the undercover ATF agent. In all cases, Reyes admitted that he believed the guns were destined for Mexico.
According to his plea agreement, Casillas sold a .40-caliber pistol to the undercover agent on August 14, 2014;an AR-15 rifle on October 17, 2014; and was present when Reyes sold the AR-15 rifle on March 16, 2015.
Casillas also admitted that he believed the weapons were also destined for Mexico.
The complaint alleges that some of the items were military-issued, while some were purchased by the defendants in Texas and re-sold to the undercover agent.
According to the complaint, the undercover agent made clear to the defendants on multiple occasions that the purchased guns were destined for Mexico; the defendants also noted that some of the guns acquired in Texas had obliterated serial numbers or were “hot,” meaning they’d been used in a crime or were stolen. The undercover agent told the defendants he was a member of a Mexican drug cartel, according to the complaint.
During one transaction, the defendants showed up in U.S. Army uniforms.