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Former Marines sell illegal weapons to Latino gang
An AK-47
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Alex07 / Wikipedia
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Former Marines sell illegal weapons to Latino gang
Former Marines sell illegal weapons to Latino gang
Federal agents have arrested three former Marines accused of selling illegal guns to gang members in the San Fernando Valley.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms worked with other agencies for a year on a major investigation into illegal firearms trafficking. The investigation led a week ago to the arrest of 28-year-old former Marine Adam Gitschlag in San Clemente.
On Monday agents arrested two more former marines – Jose Pacheco of Montebello and Miguel Ortiz of Northridge – and two civilians.
During the summer, the five men allegedly sold $6,000 worth of illegal weapons to a person they thought was connected to Florencia 13, an established Latino street gang. The sale, authorities say, went down in the parking lot of a Pasadena post office.
Gitschlag maintains his innocence. He says he’s a private weapons collector who loves his country. If convicted, each defendant faces more than 20 years in state prison.
The feds also recently arrested a Navy SEAL in San Diego suspected of smuggling 80 AK-47s from Iraq or Afghanistan.
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