2 Phoenix men sentenced to years in prison for possessing machine guns

PHOENIX – Two Phoenix men and a man from Mexico were sentenced to years in prison for possessing machine guns, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Alfredo Macias, 20, of Phoenix and Jesus David Vega-Rivera, 26, of Mexico were handed down four years and three months in prison. Daniel Alfredo Galvan, 20, of Phoenix was given three years and six months in prison. All three men will have three years of supervised release.

The prison terms come after Macias and Galvan negotiated with another person to buy machine guns and traffick the weapons to Mexico. Text messages were exchanged that showed the firearms and the money.

When the in-person exchange occurred, Vega-Rivera was present with cash for the machine guns. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested all three men.

In June, Galvan pleaded guilty to possession or transfer of a machine gun and Vega-Rivera pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess or transfer of a machine gun. In July, Macias pleaded guilty to possession or transfer of a machine gun.

The case was part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program. The project partners law enforcement and communities with the hope to reduce the amount of violent crime and create safer neighborhoods.

Before sentencing the men, United States District Judge Krissa M. Lanham spoke on the danger of machine guns.