Mesa man receives prison sentence for trying to smuggle guns into Mexico
Oct 26, 2019, 9:22 AM | Updated: Oct 28, 2019, 7:57 am
(Public Domain Photo)
(Public Domain Photo)
PHOENIX — A prison sentence of 36 months was handed to a Mesa man attempting to smuggle nine handguns, 13 magazines and 200 rounds of ammunition into Mexico.
Miguel Sanchez Alvarez and an accomplice attempted to sneak the firearms and ammunition through the DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales in 2017.
The accomplice, Victor Orlando Leal-Medina, plead guilty one count of unlawful smuggling of goods in December and was sentenced to 14 months, while Alvarez was found guilty in a trial by jury for the same offense.
All of the guns and ammunition recovered in the investigation belonged to the 43-year-old Alvarez, who tried to conceal the weapons in a bucket filled with roofing tar.
Alvarez then provided the bucket to Leal-Medina who attempted to bring the bucket across the border, before being stopped by authorities.
An investigation was then conducted by ICE, ATF and the Phoenix and Nogales police departments.
