A 24-year-old man from Whittier, Los Angeles County, has been sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison after operating an unlicensed firearm dealing business and orchestrating an armed robbery, as announced by the U.S. Department of Justice. Salvador Lopez, who dealt in weapons without serial numbers known as "ghost guns," pleaded guilty to one count of dealing firearms without a license and one count of armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California.
United States Attorney Martin Estrada emphasized the severity of the crimes, stating, "Selling firearms illegally and putting more untraceable weapons into the community shows a blatant disregard for the law and puts the safety of our citizens at great risk," and he concluded by saying that "this defendant’s lengthy sentence should serve as a warning to others that law enforcement will act decisively to prevent violent gun crime." Lopez, in addition to his prison sentence, has been ordered to pay $2,000 in restitution, he along with Ivan Quintos of Azusa, Mark Perez, and Zachary Dry both of Henderson, Nevada were involved in selling more than five dozen firearms via Instagram—using direct messages and public posts as their marketplace, as reported by KTLA.
Further details revealed that Lopez had initially planned to sell firearms to a confidential informant but instead directed a minor to rob the informant at gunpoint—a crime that led to the theft of $5,000, a personal cellphone, and a vehicle, from this incident Lopez received a portion of the stolen spoils, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California. As his co-defendants await sentencing, Quintos faces up to 15 years in prison with his hearing scheduled for April 14, while Perez and Dry are set for sentencing on March 24 and February 3 respectively.
