ARIZONA NEWS

Arizona man sent to prison for false statement while buying high-powered rifle

Feb 15, 2024, 8:15 PM

A man aims a rifle. The man is blurred in the background and the gun is in focus...

An Arizona man was recently sentenced to 21 months in prison making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm in 2020. (Pexels Photo)

(Pexels Photo)

PHOENIX – An Arizona man was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison last week for lying on forms while buying a high-powered rifle, authorities announced Thursday.

A jury previously convicted 23-year-old Javier Alejandro Ramos-Velderrain of Tucson for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said.

Prosecutors say Ramos-Velderrain bought a Barrett BMG .50-caliber rifle that was confiscated after a U.S. consulate employee was caught trying to enter Mexico via Nogales with 15 guns in November 2020.

Investigators learned that Ramos-Velderrain bought the .50-caliber rifle from a federally licensed dealer 22 days before it was intercepted at the border.

Ramos-Velderrain knowingly put a false address in the sale paperwork, which made it difficult for investigators to track him down, prosecutors said.

After agents found him, he said he sold the gun for $7,000 to somebody who answered an online ad.

The consulate employee who was caught with the rifle and other firearms, Luis Manuel Bray-Vasquez, pleaded guilty to smuggling goods from the United States and was sentenced to 46 months in prison in August 2021.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

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Arizona man sent to prison for false statement while buying high-powered rifle