Former Oklahoma narcotics agent pleads guilty to gun smuggling September 30, 2010 - NewsOK
A former state narcotics agent pleaded guilty Wednesday to federal charges related to a gun smuggling operation.
Francisco Javier Reyes, 29, of Oklahoma City, admitted his part in a scheme to smuggle firearms from Oklahoma to Texas. Some of the weapons ended up in Mexico. Advertisement
Reyes, who entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors, was an Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control agent when he committed his crimes earlier this year. He resigned a day after his arrest last month.
He said in court Wednesday that he was hired by Gregorio Morales-Martinez, an illegal Mexican immigrant, to purchase "military-type rifles” in Oklahoma and deliver them to Lewisville, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. Reyes, in turn, paid two of his friends — Kyle Wooten, who later died, and Jorge A. Blanco — $50 for each rifle they purchased for him.
Morales-Martinez, 34, has been charged with conspiracy to defraud the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, making false statements on ATF forms and being an illegal immigrant in possession of firearms. The government alleges that he removed the serial numbers from some of the weapons and arranged for them to be transported into Mexico.
Blanco, 25, of Stillwater, faces charges of conspiracy and making false statements on ATF forms.
Reyes seemed nervous before Wednesday's hearing, at which he pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy and transferring firearms to an out-of-state resident. Each crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
As a prosecutor and U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton asked Reyes questions, he responded, "Yes, sir” or "No, sir,” accompanying each answer with a brisk nod. He waived his right to a trial and his right to appeal.
"The bottom line,” Heaton finally asked, "is did you do what you're charged with here?”
Reyes nodded again. "Yes, sir.”
Moments later, Heaton pronounced Reyes guilty and released him on his existing bond. A sentencing date has not been set.
Reyes and his attorney declined to comment.
Sanford C. Coats, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma, criticized Reyes for betraying the public's trust. He said Reyes and his alleged conspirators contributed to border violence.
"We all know about the significant violence that's going on down in that part of our country and our neighbors to the south,” Coats said. "A lot of that is being fueled by firearms purchased in the United States and then trafficked to Mexico. ... The guns are going south, and the drugs are coming north.”
Coats credited investigators with dismantling Reyes' group but said more arrests are possible as the investigation continues.
"If more people are involved that we can identify,” he said, "we will, of course, take this very seriously and bring more charges.”
Mark Woodward, narcotics bureau spokesman, said Reyes had been with the bureau since September 2007. Most recently, he worked with a dog to locate drugs hidden inside vehicles.
"While he was on duty,” Woodward said, "he was doing everything completely by the book. Obviously, he had a secret life we may never understand.”
That secret life has given the bureau a black eye, Woodward said, and left agents who knew Reyes reeling.
"We're not just friends here,” he said. "We're a family, and he betrayed our entire family when he did this. That's why this hurts so bad.”
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