View Full Version : Former (Nashville) Officer Indicted On Gun Smuggling Charges
Former Officer Indicted On Gun Smuggling Charges
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=11226294
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Five Guatemalan nationals have been indicted on gun smuggling charges after a year long investigation in Nashville. One of the men was a former Metro police officer.
Several agencies were involved in the investigation including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Metro Nashville Police Department and U.S. Attorney's Office.
Officials named Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez, Donald Efren Franco, Denis Franco, Luis Armando Monterroso Pineda and Edwing Ronal Morales in the indictment. Morales was a police trainee since April 2007. His employment was terminated Sept. 15, 2009.
Rojas-Lopez reportedly recruited the other four men to buy firearms. The men reportedly bought 23 firearms, and 18 of those were smuggled into Guatemala. The remaining 5 firearms were seized by authorities.
The suspects allegedly worked with members of Lorenzana and Mendoza Drug Cartels to determine which weapons to purchase and when to send them to Guatemala. The weapons were purchased from gun dealers in Middle Tennessee.
The men turned themselves into authorities on Tuesday.
The investigation was part of an ICE-led bi-lateral program called "Armas Cruzadas."
Key words are "former officer." Of course the media can't/won't say private citizen. He is not a LE officer so they must make a link even if it is not valid. The majority of the media is always looking to put down LE or Mil. But when SHTF, who are they more than happy to call?
His employment was terminated Sept. 15, 2009.
Five Guatemalan nationals have been indicted on gun smuggling charges after a year long investigation in Nashville. One of the men was a former Metro police officer.
It appears his employment was just terminated, just a few days ago, investigation is over a year old, seems like he was most likely committing these acts while employed as such.
Just speculating...
No need to speculate; you are absolutely correct.
"Morales had been assigned to routine patrol in the North precinct.
Chief Ronal Serpas did not hold back when describing his feelings about the charges against Morales. "I think he was stupid to be involved in this criminal enterprise and think he could get away with it," Serpas said.
Morales was fired from the Metro Nashville Police Department on Sept. 15. He had been a police officer trainee since April 1, 2007.
"This community and this police department has no tolerance for anyone involved in this type of behavior," said Serpas."
Dipstick was doing this during his tenure at MNPD.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2009
Edward M. Yarbrough, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee; James M. Cavanaugh, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Nashville Field Office; Jon Ruttencutter, Resident Agent in Charge of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Nashville Field Office; and Ronal Serpas, Chief of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, announced the indictment of five Guatemalan nationals, including a former Metropolitan Nashville police officer and three naturalized U.S. citizens, by a federal grand jury in Nashville, Tennessee. The investigation was a joint effort by ATF and ICE that began in 2008.
According to the indictment, Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez, Donald Efren Franco, Denis Franco, Luis Armando Monterroso Pineda and Edwing Ronal Morales were part of a conspiracy, the object of which was to purchase semi-automatic pistols, revolvers, and ammunition for export to the Republic of Guatemala. The defendants intended to conceal from the sellers and law enforcement authorities the true purchaser of the firearms and their ultimate and final use and destination; to export the firearms and ammunition from the United States to members of the Lorenzana and Mendoza Drug Cartels located in the Republic of Guatemala; and to conceal the export of the firearms and ammunition from the authorities.
According to the indictment, Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez communicated with members of the Lorenzana and Mendoza Drug Cartels in the Republic of Guatemala to discuss when to purchase firearms and ammunition from gun dealers in the middle Tennessee area; how many firearms to purchase from the gun dealers; how much ammunition to purchase from the gun dealers; and when to smuggle the firearms and ammunition out of the United States to the Republic of Guatemala. Members of the Lorenzana and Mendoza Drug Cartels who resided in the Republic of Guatemala wired substantial sums of money to Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez in middle Tennessee for the purchase and export of firearms and ammunition.
The indictment charges that Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez recruited Donald Efren Franco, Denis Franco, Luis Armando Monterroso Pineda and Edwing Ronal Morales to go to the gun dealers and purchase firearms and ammunition. Rojas-Lopez instructed them regarding what price to pay and provided them with the money for the purchases. The defendants purchased twenty-three (23) firearms and attempted to purchase five (5) more guns and ammunition and falsely stated who the purchasers and recipients would be. Eighteen (18) of the twenty-three (23) fraudulently purchased firearms were smuggled to the Republic of Guatemala. The remaining five (5) fraudulently purchased firearms were seized by the ATF and ICE at the conclusion of the investigation.
The indictment further charges that Rojas-Lopez concealed the firearms and ammunition in vehicles and in his residence in middle Tennessee. Rojas-Lopez, aided and abetted by others, smuggled the firearms and ammunition out of the United States, including by secreting and concealing them in vehicles that he drove or towed, or had others drive or tow, to the Republic of Guatemala for delivery to members of the Lorenzana and Mendoza Drug Cartels in violation of the export laws.
Julio Cesar Rojas-Lopez, Donald Efren Franco, Denis Franco, Luis Armando Monterroso Pineda and Edwing Ronal Morales are expected to turn themselves in today. Morales is a former Metro Police Patrolman. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department immediately decommissioned Morales on the evening of July 9 after having been aware of his role in the alleged conspiracy. He was fired on September 15 after a disciplinary hearing. Morales worked for the police department for just over two years and was last assigned to the North Precinct.
“Our police department obviously has zero tolerance for conduct such as this, and action against Morales was swift,” Chief Ronal Serpas said. “Any other approach would have been a disservice to the incredibly hard working police officers throughout Nashville.”
Serpas said there is absolutely no reason to believe that any other member of the police department was aware of the alleged conspiracy or Morales’ conduct.
United States Attorney Edward M. Yarbrough said “The investigation and indictment are an excellent example of how the United States Attorney’s Office, their law enforcement partners and local gun dealers are working together to prevent firearms from being diverted to criminal organizations. We recognize the role that firearms play in violent crimes, whether in Central America or middle Tennessee, and our roles in protecting the public. These individuals will no longer be able to divert firearms and ammunition to Guatemala for criminal use by the Lorenzana and Mendoza Drug Cartels, thereby alleviating the violence that could have been committed with those firearms and ammunition.”
“The case was made by the work of Metro Nashville Police, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ATF and the US Attorney’s office. Critical as well, was honest Federal Firearms Dealers who carefully maintain their records and who refuse to be swept into a straw purchase conspiracy.”
“This case was investigated as part of ‘Armas Cruzadas,’ an ICE-led bi-lateral program designed to identify, disrupt and dismantle trans-border weapons-smuggling networks” said Michael A. Holt, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in New Orleans. “The operation aims to stop the illegal export of weapons from the United States into the hands of drug cartel organizations. Armas Cruzadas will help strengthen inter-agency cooperation between U.S. and International Law Enforcement, state and local law enforcement agencies and promote the exchange of intelligence through numerous points of contact.”
The United States is represented by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Kent.
An indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless they are proven guilty.
rifleman2000
09-30-09, 08:30
How is it cost effective to purchase firearms in Tennessee to send them to a 3rd world country? Maybe I am missing something. We are talking drug cartels with speedboats, aircraft, etc. Yet they are buying guns from legit gun stores in middle America. Nothing in this story makes sense.
Changes things. Too bad bast**** like these are what most people seize upon when they "think" of the police. Media would much rather report the bad officers than the deeds of the many good ones.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.