An Irving man was sentenced to fourteen years in federal prison for several drug offenses and possessing machine guns, according to an announcement made by Chad Meacham, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
According to Meacham’s Monday announcement, Ramon Navarro III, 23, of Irving pleaded guilty in March to eight counts of distribution of controlled substances and four counts of possessing an unregistered firearm.
According to CBS 11 News, Navarro admitted to the court that he owned four machine gun “conversion sears,” three-piece devices used to convert semi-automatic firearms into fully automatic weapons.
Navarro, who also went by the alias “Trae Alvarez,” also processed six Glock pistols that were transformed into fully automatic weapons in operating condition with the aid of conversion sears. None of the firearms were registered to Navarro.
Navarro also admitted to drug offenses trafficking cocaine and heroin.
Navarro’s case was the result of a joint effort by the Dallas Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division.
The joint effort was a part of an initiative created by the Department of Justice called “Project Guardian,” according to CBS 11 News.
Project Guardian aims to reduce gun violence by enforcing federal gun laws through coordination between the federal government and state and local law enforcement.
According to CBS 11 News, Jamey VanVliet, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s Dallas Field Division, said Navarro’s case is “an example of ATF’s steadfast commitment to working with Dallas Police Department and all our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners in combining resources to combat violent crime, disrupt firearms trafficking, and ultimately create safer communities.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Requénez prosecuted the case with the assistance of Assistant U.S. Attorney Walt Junker.
Navarro was sentenced on Monday by U.S. District Judge Sam A Lindsay.
