By TERRY WALLACE Associated Press
DALLAS – Three Texas men were indicted on federal gun and conspiracy charges Wednesday after officials linked them to a gun used in the shooting death of a U.S. agent in Mexico.
The grand jury in Dallas returned a six-count indictment against Ranferi Osorio, 27, a veteran of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars; his 22-year-old brother, Otilio Osorio; and their 25-year-old neighbor, Kelvin Leon Morrison, all residents of the southern Dallas suburb of Lancaster.
Each is charged with a single count of conspiracy and four counts of using false statements to a dealer to acquire a firearm. The Osorio brothers also are charged with single counts of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. All three remain in custody.
The firearms charges aren't directly related to last month's death of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata in Mexico.
Messages left with attorneys representing the three defendants were not immediately returned on Wednesday.
According to the indictment, the three lied to a licensed gun dealer from July through at least November to illegally obtain at least 10 firearms that they intended to pass on to others. Federal officials have said an informant reported the firearms were being supplied to the ruthless Mexican drug cartel called Los Zetas. Mexican authorities have arrested at least two Zetas members in the agent's shooting death.
According to federal complaints filed previously, investigators said the men indicted Wednesday met a confidential informant near Dallas in November and gave him 40 guns to take into Mexico. The pistols, rifles and a shotgun — most without serial numbers — were seized before they crossed the border as part of the undercover operation by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
But authorities later learned that another gun purchased in October by Otilio Osorio was used in the Feb. 15 attack on two ICE agents as they drove on a highway near San Luis Potosi in Mexico, killing Zapata and wounding Victor Avila.
Osorio bought that gun in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but authorities did not know at the time, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Dallas, which did not say when officials learned about the purchase. It's also unclear how, when and by whom that weapon was moved into Mexico.
The conspiracy and illegal firearm possession counts are punishable by up to five years in prison. The counts of lying to obtain firearms are punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Good Kick their ass. But raising hell over guns being taken to Mexico is Bull Shit. First Mexicans can and will get guns any time anywhere the US just happens to be handy because of drug networks already in place. Second it gives drug sympathetic politicians a great red herring to argue against the U S. The whole idea that you can alter a countrys murder/crime rate thru taking the publics guns is a hollow argument EXHIBIT 1 Mexico,Australia,U K read the facts. These Turds need to spend Mucho hard time.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good start, next go after the ATF criminals that did the exact same crime as these pendejos, the only difference is the murders caused by the ATF selling guns to the cartels have killed hundreds, if not thousands.. demand justice!
ReplyDeleteThey should trace ALL the guns that have USA on them and not just this 1! What a farce!
ReplyDeleteMy thoughts are somebody moved in because the ATF dont want competition selling guns to criminals.
ReplyDeleteCoruption within the us law enforcement agencies make me fuking sick. Boooo USA dont become like the shit place Mexico.
ReplyDelete@ 9:41 LOL totally agree man, if you didnt know the CIA was also bringing cocaine back from Colombia as well and got busted for it yet nothing happened and no investigations were done. they simply blamed it on a black guy thats currently in jail and is not set to come out for another 10 years.
ReplyDeleteSo how did two snot noses and one idiot get contacts to Z's in Mexico? Or did the ATF also smuggle the weapon(s) that killed Zapata?
ReplyDeleteyou are way off base 7:33 pm. Your gun "stats" have no basis in fact.
ReplyDeleteIn the countries you refer to (Australia, UK etc), gun crime is less than 10% per capita of the gun crime in the US.
In Canada, for instance, you can own a rifle, a shotgun, a pistol (semi-automatic). You cannot buy assault rifles or armor-piercing rounds and they have 7% of the gun crime of the US and reasonable access to guns.
Canadians are willing to accept that certain weapons are not for "hunting" or "sport" and are willing to accept restrictions on weapons purely designed to kill people in the interest of better safety. They (and Australia, and Europe and the UK) have proven results.
There is no "taking of public guns" as you call it.
So, get your facts straight.
@2:31 With all due respect I must say you dont know much about Canada gun laws it's not easy to buy a gun no matter what kind it is, and the few people that own some have paid alot of money and jumped through incredibely ridicilous hoops to get them, and also your crime statistics is pure nonsense, anyone that lives in canada will tell you that gun crimes are prevalent and also murders but the government ignores this to justify empowering the people to.protect themselves...canada sucks!
ReplyDeleteCan you critique my drawing? it's really good and it sorta looks like tracer from overwatch xD
ReplyDeleteit's good