PHOENIX – Three men involved in a conspiracy to possess machineguns have been sentenced to multiple years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced today.
Alfredo Macias, 20, Daniel Alfredo Galvan, 20, both of Phoenix, and Jesus David Vega-Rivera, 26, of Mexico, were sentenced last week by U.S. District Judge Krissa M. Lanham.
Macias and Vega-Rivera received 51 months in prison, while Galvan was sentenced to 42 months. All three defendants will serve an additional 36 months of supervised release following their time in prison.
The case involved Macias and Galvan negotiating the purchase of machineguns, intending to smuggle the firearms into Mexico. The two exchanged text messages with another person, showing images of firearms and cash.
At the time of the in-person exchange, Vega-Rivera was present with the cash for the machineguns. All three were arrested by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) during the exchange.
Before sentencing, Judge Lanham stressed the extreme danger posed by machineguns, which can fire ‘numerous rounds in rapid succession,’ creating a high risk of injury or death to multiple individuals.