United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

DALLAS MAN SENTENCED TO NEARLY 13 YEARS
IN FEDERAL PRISON, WITHOUT PAROLE ON
CARJACKING AND FIREARM CONVICTIONS

One Victim is Hurricane Katrina Evacuee from New Orleans

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced Guillermo Flores, a/ka/ “Willy,” was sentenced today by the Honorable Barbara M.G. Lynn, United States District Judge, to 153 months imprisonment. Flores, along with co-defendants Felipe Acosta, a/k/a “Pepe,” and Gonzalo Gandara, a/k/a “G-G,” each pled guilty in October 2006 to one count of carjacking and one count of using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to that crime of violence, stemming from a January 2006 armed robbery spree in Dallas. All three defendants have been in custody since their arrest. Defendants Acosta and Gandara will be sentenced later this month.

The defendants admitted that on the morning of January 18, 2006, Acosta, age 18, Flores, age 19, and Gandara, age 19, embarked on an armed robbery spree in Dallas using a short-barreled (sawed-off) shotgun. They were arrested early that afternoon at the Gandara residence by Dallas Police Department officers shortly after they had attempted another armed robbery.

According to documents filed in court and evidence presented at the defendants’ detention hearings, at about 7:25 a.m. that morning, a person was passing out flyers at an apartment complex in Dallas when he was approached by Acosta and Flores, who got out of a dark-colored Lincoln that had stopped. Flores asked the victim if he had anything of value at which point Acosta pulled out a sawed-off shotgun. The victim said he didn’t carry money while at work, at which point Acosta put the weapon to his head. Flores tookthe victim’s cell phone and keys to his vehicle. Then the driver of the Lincoln, Gandara, pulled up and shouted to Flores and Acosta to “get out of here.” Flores and Acosta entered the Lincoln and the three men sped away in the Lincoln. The victim reported the incident to the Dallas Police Department.

Shortly thereafter, at approximately 7:40 a.m., a woman drove her sport utility vehicle to pick up another woman, a displaced hurricane evacuee from New Orleans, at an apartment complex in Dallas. The evacuee entered the vehicle, with her three-year-old child, and as they were about to leave, a dark colored Lincoln pulled up and blocked them. Gandara approached them under the guise of asking for directions and when they could not help, Acosta approached with a sawed-off shotgun and ordered them out of the vehicle and onto the ground. Acosta even pointed the weapon at the child seated in the backseat of the vehicle and took the victims’ purses. Both victims pleaded for their lives and for the life of the child. As the victims‘ belongings were being searched for valuables, one of the three men exclaimed, “Y’all ain’t got no money?!” At this point, one of the victims informed them she was from New Orleans to which one of the men exclaimed “Welcome to Texas, bitch.” The three men took their purses, cell phones and keys to the vehicle, and sped away. The women immediately reported it to the Dallas Police Department.

At approximately 8:00 a.m. that morning, the dark colored Lincoln, driven by Gandara, stopped behind a work van that was driven by a painter who had stopped to pick up workers at a location in Dallas. The van was equipped and recognizable as one used in the painting business. Acosta, Flores and Gandara, who had a sawed-off shotgun, were riding in the Lincoln looking for yet another robbery target. They spotted the van and decided to take it from the driver at gunpoint. Acosta and Flores exited the Lincoln and confronted the victim with the sawed-off shotgun. The victim surrendered the vehicle as the defendants demanded because he feared that he would be shot and killed if he refused. The three defendants then fled the scene in the Lincoln and in the painter’s van.

At approximately 1:00 p.m. that afternoon, the three defendants attempted another robbery, attempting to rob three men who were working at a rent house in Dallas. Gandara produced a sawed-off shotgun threatening to kill one of the victims if he didn’t hand over his wallet. The victims were able to repel the defendants and reported the incident to the Dallas Police Department. Dallas Police Department officers arrested the three defendants at about 2:40 p.m. at Gandara’s home.

United States Attorney Roper praised the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Dallas Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United State Attorney Gary Tromblay.

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