A Guatemalan man was sentenced to 78 months in prison, 6 years and 5 months, for his participation in a firearms trafficking conspiracy and for illegal possession of weapons in the United States, reported the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Judge Matthew J. Maddox imposed the sentence on Lester Ramos Pérez, 29, who must also serve one year of supervised release at the end of his sentence.
The federal prosecutor for the District of Maryland, Kelly Hayes, reported that the sentence is the result of an investigation carried out by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
According to court documents, the investigation began in July 2024, when authorities suspected that Ramos Pérez was trafficking firearms from Alabama to Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Later, in September of that year, Ramos Pérez moved to Waldorf, Maryland.
The investigation determined that Ramos Pérez and an accomplice participated in the illegal sale of firearms through transactions controlled by law enforcement in Alabama and Maryland.
Authorities indicated that two of the weapons sold were stolen and that at least two others were classified as machine guns.
During the investigation, agents established that Ramos Pérez was warned that one of the buyers had a criminal record and was acquiring the weapons on behalf of another person. Despite this, he continued with the transactions, according to the guilty plea.
Background
According to the federal indictment, Ramos Pérez was linked to a network dedicated to arms trafficking between Alabama and Maryland. In addition to the prison sentence, authorities requested the confiscation of firearms, ammunition, and any profits obtained from illicit activities.
The federal prosecutor noted that the case is part of an initiative of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), created to combat transnational criminal organizations and illicit trafficking networks operating in the United States.