Related Content
Press Release
Press Release
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Hugo Barrera, Special Agent in Charge, Miami Field Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Scott Israel, Sheriff, Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO), and Ric L. Bradshaw, Sheriff, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO), announce that Jose Antonio Quintana, 55, of Virginia Gardens, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth L. Ryskamp to 37 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised released, for dealing in firearms without a federal firearms license, in violation of Title 18, Untied States Code, Sections 922(a)(1)(A).
As part of the sentence, the Court ordered the forfeiture of 96 rifles, 79 shotguns, 418 handguns and approximately 25,889 rounds of ammunition that were seized from Quintana as part of the investigation, resulting in one of the largest firearms forfeitures from one individual in the Southern District of Florida.
According to the criminal complaint, superseding information, and stipulated factual basis filed in the case, Quintana attended numerous gun shows across the State Florida between November 2008 and July 7, 2012. At each gun show, Quintana sold firearms as purported “private sales.” This practice allowed Quintana to benefit from a cash business without the expense of operating a storefront, reporting his activity to ATF, completing any ATF paperwork (ATF Form 4473), and without conducting the required background checks of any customers.
During this period, undercover ATF agents purchased eleven (11) firearms, valued at $6,115.00, from Quintana at various gun shows. In one of the undercover purchases, Quintana claimed that the law allowed him to privately sell a reasonable unspecified quantity of firearms. In the recorded conversation, Quintana stated, “Let us say, twelve, twenty four, thirty six, fifty, firearms per year. Let us say, reasonable. . . I surpassed that a long time ago.”
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of ATF, BSO and PBSO. Mr. Ferrer also thanked the Miami-Dade Police Department, the Miami Beach Police Department, the City of Miami Police Department, and the Virginia Gardens Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam McMichael.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.