AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) – A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Loyd Walter Hall and multiple co-defendants with conspiring to provide firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel.
Loyd Hall, Jesus Quezada Meza, Omar Velasquez, and Catlynn Ann Townsend were indicted June 25.
The superseding indictment adds a fifth defendant, 73-year-old Johnnie Wayne Corbett of Amarillo, who was arrested by federal agents on October 17.
Below is an overview of the charges in the superseding indictment:
- Conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization: The indictment accused Hall of coordinating to supply firearms, ammunition, and related equipment to the Sinaloa Cartel. This conduct included facilitating access to weapons capable of supporting cartel operations, knowing the organization engages in violent activity, including attacks against law enforcement, rivals, and civilians.
- Conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for importation into the United States: The charges state the defendants participated in a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving fentanyl, heroin and cocaine intended for illegal importation into the United States.
- Using and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes: Hall is accused of possessing and transporting firearms, including semiautomatic assault weapons, to facilitate narcotics trafficking activities. The indictment says the weapons were used to protect drug shipments, enforce cartel directives, and enable violent confrontations.
- Conspiracy to traffic firearms: The indictment details coordinated schemes to ship, transport and transfer firearms across state and international borders.
- Conspiracy to straw purchase firearms: The indictment says the defendants coordinated with one another to recruit and use straw purchasers to obtain weapons that the true recipients could not legally acquire. This included selected targeted firearms dealers, choosing specific high-powered weapons and directing straw buyers to falsely claim they were the actual purchasers, enabling the covert movement of firearms to criminal associates.
- Making false statements to firearms dealers: The indictment says the defendants knowingly submitted false ATF Form 4473s and other fraudulent statements to federally licensed firearms dealers, misrepresenting the identity of the actual firearm buyers and concealing the intended transfer of the weapons.
The indictment lays out the conspiracy allegation against the five defendants.
In July 2024, Corbett bought a .50 caliber rifle from a sporting goods store located in Amarillo, per the documents. He filled out paperwork wherein he answered ‘yes’ that he was the actual buyer or transferee when he was not…