A 21-year-old man was sentenced to nearly three years in prison Thursday in a case that stemmed from a traffic stop in Nogales in which police say they found ammunition headed into Mexico, officials say.
Francisco Guerra-Franco, 21, of New Mexico, was pulled over on Dec. 26, 2016 for a routine traffic stop, according to a news release from the US Attorney's Office in Arizona.
An officer found 12,000 rounds of ammunition in Guerra-Franco’s truck.
An investigation showed Guerra-Franco had purchased the ammunition using money wired to his bank account by a person living in Mexico. That person was to meet Guerra-Franco in Nogales, Arizona and then smuggle the ammunition into Mexico, the news release said.
Guerra-Franco also made alse statements to agents when confronted about three Colt M4 Carbine semi-automatic rifles he had previously acquired, the release said.
Guerra-Franco was sentenced Oct. 1, by U.S. District Judge James A. Soto to 33 months in prison followed by three years of supervision. Guerra-Franco had previously pleaded guilty to two charges: facilitation to smuggle goods from the United States and false statements to a federal agent.
