Laredo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for False Statement During Firearm Purchase

SAN ANTONIO – A U.S. District Judge in San Antonio sentenced a Laredo man yesterday to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release for providing a false statement in required information kept by a firearms dealer. FBI agents arrested him in April 2023; he pleaded guilty to an indictment on June 22, 2023.

According to court documents, Brandon Ray Speed, 20, provided an incorrect home address when he attempted to purchase a 12-gauge shotgun at a sporting goods store in San Antonio on December 11, 2022. Speed’s attempted purchase was delayed due to expanded background checks for purchasers under age 21 required under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and he never completed the purchase.

At sentencing, the prosecution explained that the Laredo Police Department arrested Speed in December 2022 for making terroristic threats related to the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.  Speed had a history of using firearms to promote and amplify his social media posts glorifying the Uvalde gunman, which included a video clip of Speed driving past the memorial at Robb Elementary school, with the caption “Long Live Salvador.” The prosecution argued that Speed’s history of alien smuggling activities warranted an increased sentence and that a substantial sentence was needed because of the dangers Speed posed to the community, which included his admission that he fantasized about committing a school shooting.

The FBI’s Behavioral Threat Assessment Center, in conjunction with local law enforcement’s San Antonio Behavioral Threat Assessment Group, provided key information and analysis to assist prosecutors and investigators in this case, including an assessment that Speed posed a high risk of committing acts of violence, which helped authorities to allocate resources appropriately.

“This is a great example of coordinated efforts by local and federal law enforcement to intervene early and keep our community safe using the full panoply of prosecutorial options at our disposal,” said Jaime Esparza, United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas.  “I thank our partners at the FBI for their commitment to the investigation in this case, which led to our prosecution and prevented the defendant from inflicting any danger in our communities.”

“Brandon Speed provided false statements on an official form while trying to purchase a gun after demonstrating concerning behavior in several other areas of his life,” said Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich, Jr. for the FBI San Antonio Division.  “I would like to thank the San Antonio Behavioral Threat Assessment Group, the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, and our local law enforcement partners for their exceptional work on this case.”

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly Stephenson prosecuted the case.

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