Officials on Wednesday announced the arrests and indictments of a dozen people connected to a suspected gun ring that authorities say trafficked and sold stolen firearms, machine guns and gun switches in San Antonio with the intent to distribute guns to Mexico.
Throughout the year-long investigation, federal agents seized nearly 200 firearms, including 14 machine guns and 61 machine gun conversion devices and made arrests at 13 locations in San Antonio and one in McAllen on Tuesday.
Of the weapons recovered, 39 were reported stolen, mostly from vehicles, said Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assistant special agent in charge Robert Topper. Six firearms recovered had been used in shootings in San Antonio; three of which were machine guns.
On Tuesday, an ATF agent shot and killed a suspect while serving an arrest warrant on related to the operation, Esparza said, but wouldn’t comment further.
Federal agents with the ATF and the San Antonio Police Department on Tuesday arrested Jonathan Adrian Briseno, Ruben Gonzalez Jr., Joel Alejandro Martinez, Margarita Hernandez Martinez, Julio Alejandro Sanchez, Arnulfo Javier Maldonado, Darius Springs, Giovanni Martinez Larios, Jesus Hernandez Jr., Bernardo Melendez Jr., Joe Randy Cano and Patrick Michael Cuellar, aged 18 to 43.
They face charges including firearm trafficking and dealing firearms without a license, possession of a stolen firearm and possession of a machine gun. Each person faces up to 15 years in prison, depending on the charge.
Under federal law, switches are defined as machine guns. The possession of a machine gun and a switch is illegal and carries a 10-year maximum prison sentence, said U.S. Attorney of the Western District of Texas Jaime Esparza.
“You put your firearm in your car, it’s not secure. They know that [and] they take your firearm, and they’re committing crimes,” he said. “We can’t say with certainty the connection to the cartel, but taking a firearm from a vehicle certainly increases the chances of violent crime.”
This year, more than 1,100 guns have been stolen in San Antonio. Reports of stolen guns have remained high since 2020, and to date, more than 30,000 guns have been stolen from vehicles across Texas’ four largest cities, including San Antonio.
An average of 24 guns are stolen from locked and unlocked vehicles every day in Texas. That’s why SAPD’s newly formed gun unit is focused on getting gun switches off the street, authorities said Wednesday.
“As lawful gun-owning Americans, everyone must understand the dangerous consequences of not securing your firearm,” Esparza said. “A locked car is not a secure car.”
If you have a gun, keep the make, model and serial number handy, said Topper. It helps law enforcement begin to investigate who has it if it is stolen, and whether you could get it back. Always report when a gun has been stolen, he said.
