A federal judge in Atlanta on Thursday sentenced three men to prison for their roles in a scheme to send semi-automatic assault rifles to Mexico.
The U.S. Attorney's Office said after agents learned one of the men was trying to buy firearms in January 2010, they searched a Doraville home and found four assault rifles inside. The three men, who previously pleaded guilty, received the following sentences: Dario Rodriguez-Gomez, 29, of Doraville, 3 years; Manuel Gamez-Valenzuela, 46, of Atlanta, 2 years; and Daniel Bernal-Perez, 36, of Doraville, 7 years.
“The illegal flow of firearms from Atlanta to Mexico must be stopped," U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said in a statement. "These trafficked firearms frequently end up in the hands of violent, lawless individuals who use them to commit violent crimes or further other criminal activity such as drug trafficking."
Gregory Gant, special agent in charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the illegal international trafficking of firearms "is a crime that cannot be tolerated."
After agents executed a search warrant at the Doraville home, they found three Norinco rifles and one Olympic Arms rifle hidden in a closet, authorities said, noting that all four rifles are semi-automatic assault rifles that had large capacity magazines attached to them.
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