Valley felon sentenced to 7 years in prison for possession of firearms

PHOENIX — A Glendale man was sentenced last month to seven years behind bars after previously pleading guilty to possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

Luis Salvador Flores, 50, was pulled over by officers from the Pima County Sheriff’s Department in November 2020 for a suspected traffic code infraction, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona said in a press release.

Officers found two semi-automatic firearms, a loaded Glock 9mm pistol and an ATI Omni Hybrid 5.56/.223 caliber rifle, as well as magazines and ammunition, authorities said.

Flores was on his way to oversee a meth sale in Tucson and told authorities he intended to provide “security” for the drug deal that was anticipated to involve 200 pounds of the illegal substance.

Authorities said the drug deal didn’t occur because Flores was stopped by officers before reaching the location.

He had more than 20 previous felony convictions on his record at the time of the arrest that stemmed from multiple prior criminal state court cases, authorities said.

After his prison sentence concludes, Flores will also serve 36 months of supervised release.

Investigation of the case was conducted by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Tucson with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as the Pima County Sheriff’s Department.

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