Grant County Man Sentenced to Prison for Violating the Federal Firearms Laws

ALBUQUERQUE – Javier J. Reyes, 20, of the Village of Santa Clara in Grant County, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 48 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for the unlawful possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle with an obliterated serial number and for receiving a firearm while under indictment.

Reyes and his co-defendant Gabriel Saiz, 21, of Silver City, N.M., were charged with possession of an unregistered firearm in a criminal complaint filed on March 1, 2013.  The two subsequently were indicted and charged with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle, and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.  According to the indictment, Saiz and Reyes possessed a firearm made from a Mossberg .22 caliber rifle with a barrel length of less than 16 inches and an obliterated serial number on Nov. 27, 2012, in Grant County, N.M.

Court filings reflect that Reyes and Saiz were arrested on local charges by the Silver City Police Department on Nov. 27, 2012, in Silver City after they robbed a woman at gunpoint at approximately 7:30 p.m. that day and allegedly assaulted four individuals by brandishing a firearm at them approximately an hour later.  The officers were able to apprehend Reyes and Saiz at approximately 9:00 p.m. that night because the victim of the armed robbery provided the license plate number for the vehicle in which Reyes and Saiz were driving.  When the officers arrested the men, they observed a firearm on the floor board under the front passenger seat. 

Reyes was released pending trial following his arrest.  While on release, Reyes was arrested again on Oct. 25, 2013, on a criminal complaint charging him with receiving a firearm while under indictment.  According to the complaint, Reyes was arrested on Oct. 4, 2013, on state charges at a dormitory of the Western New Mexico University campus by officers who responded to reports of a man with a gun.  At the time of his arrest, Reyes had a firearm in the front waistband of his pants.  Reyes has been in custody since this second arrest.

On Dec. 6, 2013, Reyes pled guilty to the indictment charging him with possession of the unregistered short-barreled rifle with the obliterated serial number.  He also pled guilty to a felony information charging him with receiving a firearm while under indictment.  The pleas were entered without the benefit of any plea agreement.

Saiz, Reyes’ co-defendant, pleaded guilty in Sept. 2013 to both counts of the indictment.  He faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison for possession of an unregistered firearms and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.  He remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has not been scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Silver City Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.