THREE INDICTED IN AUSTIN FOR CONSPIRACY TO POSSESS MACHINE GUNS
Three San Antonio residents face multiple federal firearms charges in connection with an attempt to purchase machine guns announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman.
A two–count indictment, returned this afternoon, charges 29-year-old Juan Carillo-Gallegos, 26-year-old Jorge Joaquin Garcia and 31-year-old Mary Louise Stiller with one count of conspiracy to possess a machine gun and one substantive count of possession of a machine gun. According to the indictment, the three conspired to purchase five machine guns. According to court records, on July 12, 2012, the defendants drove from San Antonio to Austin and paid $7,500 for the machine guns to an individual acting in an undercover capacity. Authorities arrested the defendants following the transaction and subsequently seized five additional assault rifles located in Garcia and Stiller's San Antonio residence.
Upon conviction, the defendants face up to five years in federal prison for the conspiracy charge; up to ten years on the machine gun possession charge. All of the defendants remain in federal custody at this time.
This matter was investigated by the Organized Crime Division of the Austin Police Department together with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Marshall is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.
An indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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