Former El Paso Gun Dealer Indicted on Federal Firearms Charges

In El Paso today, a federal grand jury indicted 31-year-old Jacob Salgado, owner of Canutillo Gun Shop, for scheme to sell firearms and ammunition to prohibited persons, announced United States Attorney John F. Bash and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek, II, Dallas Division.

The eight-count indictment charges Salgado with two counts of sale of firearms or ammunition to a prohibited person, two counts of aiding and abetting the possession of firearms or ammunition by a felon, two counts of aiding and abetting providing false information on Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) records, and two counts of failure to keep proper records as a FFL.

The indictment alleges that on two occasions--May 29, 2018, and June 11, 2018--Salgado knowingly aided a firearms purchaser in making a false declaration on ATF Form 4473 that he was buying a gun for himself, when Salgado knew the buyer was making the purchase on behalf of someone else and too, that Salgado failed to note the actual buyer’s name in his required FFL records.  The indictment further alleges that in June 2018, Salgado sold two handguns and transferred approximately 500 rounds of ammunition to a customer he had reasonable cause to suspect was a convicted felon, and aided another individual’s sale of a firearm to a convicted felon, thus enabling the felon to possess firearms and ammunition. 

Salgado is currently on bond following his arrest last month.  The Canutillo Gun Shop is no longer an FFL meaning individuals are prohibited from purchasing firearms from the business or having firearms shipped to the business for pick up.

Upon conviction, Salgado faces up to ten years in federal prison for sale of firearms to a prohibited person; up to ten years imprisonment for aiding and abetting the possession of firearms or ammunition by a felon; up to five years imprisonment for aiding and abetting providing false information on Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) records; and, up to ten years imprisonment for failure to keep proper records as a FFL.

The ATF is investigating this case.  Assistant United States Attorney Mallory Rasmussen is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.

It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.