Two Los Angeles County men are accused of participating in a scheme to illegally sell dozens of guns, some of which were untraceable, on Instagram.
According to the Department of Justice, Ivan Quintos, 27, of Azusa, and Salvador Lopez, 24, of Whittier, were indicted in a federal grand jury indictment along with two other men from Henderson, Nevada. Prosecutors allege that the four men sold more than 60 firearms, including untraceable “ghost guns” and “Glock switches” that can turn handguns into fully automatic rifles.
If convicted, Quintos faces up to 35 years in federal prison, while Lopez faces up to 15 years. Quintos has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled to appear in court again on Aug. 6. Lopez is scheduled to enter a plea at his arraignment on July 9.
According to the 11-count indictment, the two conspired with Henderson residents Mark Perez, 22, and Zachary Dry, 23, to sell firearms through direct messages and public Instagram posts. Federal prosecutors allege that in addition to ghost guns, the suspects also sold firearms with scratched-off serial numbers and stolen firearms.
They allegedly sold the weapons in North Hollywood, Las Vegas and several other areas, according to the Department of Justice.
If convicted, Perez faces up to 100 years in federal prison and Dry faces up to 25 years. Both men are prohibited from possessing weapons due to their prior criminal convictions in Nevada.
Matthew Rodriguez
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