Florida Man Arrested on Federal Criminal Complaint

Abingdon, VIRGINIA – A Florida man was arrested and charged with a pair of federal crimes following a traffic stop in Lee County, Virginia, United States Attorney Thomas T. Cullen announced today.

The United States Attorney’s Office charged Sergio Barrios Ambriz, 32, of Ft. Meade, Florida, in a criminal complaint with one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon and one count of possession with the intent to distribute crystal methamphetamine.

According to a criminal complaint and affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Abingdon, on April 6, 2018, a deputy with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on the vehicle Ambriz was driving. At the time of the traffic stop, Ambriz informed deputies that he had an outstanding warrant in Polk County, Fl., at which time deputies arrested Ambriz.

A search of his vehicle subsequently revealed a Tupperware container under the driver’s seat that contained approximately 34 ounces of a white, crystal-like substance, believed to be crystal methamphetamine, a loaded, .380-caliber pistol, $3,237 in U.S. currency, a cellular phone and smoking devices.

The investigation of the case was conducted by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lee County Sherriff’s Office.  Special Assistant United States and Virginia Assistant Attorney General Suzanne Kerney-Quillen will prosecute the case for the United States.

A criminal complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is entitled to a fair trial with the burden on the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.