3 men sentenced in Phoenix to prison for illegally owning 5 firearms, including ‘ghost gun’

PHOENIX — Three men from Mexico were recently sentenced in Phoenix for illegally possessing five firearms, including a “ghost gun,” authorities announced Monday.

Victor Alfonso Apodaca Aguilar, 22, was sentenced last week to a year in prison and three years of supervised released after pleading guilty to alien in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Co-defendants Jose Bernardo Vega-Ruiz, 27, and Hector Alvarado-Aboyta, 29, were sentenced on Nov. 20, 2023, to 15 months, followed by three years of supervised release, after also pleading guilty to the same charge.

Officers served a search warrant on March 9 at a house where the three men were living in Phoenix, and found the weapons., prosecutors said.

Ghost guns, also known as privately made firearms, earned the name as they are difficult to track, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

U.S. Border Patrol and ATF investigated the case.

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