LOS ANGELES—Three Southern California men who allegedly traveled out of state to purchase pistols and semiautomatic rifles to sell in California without a license were arrested Wednesday on a federal conspiracy charge.
Manuel Ivan Sanchez, 37, of Helendale, Ricardo Amezcua, 45, of South Gate, and Fernando Nava, 35, of Hemet, were scheduled to make their initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in Los Angeles federal court.
Prosecutors allege that from November 2022 to last July, the defendants frequently made short trips to Utah to purchase firearms from licensed dealers. When the defendants bought the firearms, they falsely listed on federal forms that they were Utah residents, court papers allege.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, listing a Utah residence was important because Utah-based licensed firearms dealers generally cannot sell firearms to California residents. To buy the guns anyway, each defendant allegedly obtained either a Utah driver’s license or ID card listing a Utah address. They then used these fraudulently obtained cards to buy guns from dealers, prosecutors allege.
At no time during the investigation has Sanchez, Amezcua, or Nava possessed a license to deal firearms, authorities said.
The defendants allegedly purchased about 123 firearms—42 from Utah-based licensed firearms dealers and 81 from an online gun exchange.
If convicted, each defendant would face up to five years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
