Press Release
☷Jacksonville Man Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Firearms and Conspiring To Commit Murder for Hire
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ( By Press Release office)
Jan 04,2024
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According to the plea agreement , on May 15 , 2021 , Reyes tried to smuggle 3 firearms and 57 rounds of ammunition from Jacksonville to Venezuela . He hid them in a futon that he tried to mail using a freight forwarding service . But the employees at the freight service spotted the firearms during a routine X - ray of the package and immediately contacted the cops . On May 22 , 2021 , Homeland Security Investigations ( HSI ) agents seized the 3 firearms , which included a Glock 17 pistol and 2 Smith and Wesson M&P 15 rifles . The serial numbers on the Glock pistol and one of the Smith and Wesson rifles were destroyed , but forensic technicians at the Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives ( ATF ) were able to restore them . This helped ATF agents trace the firearms back to someone in Jacksonville . Oh , and the shipping documents had Reyes ' phone number and address on them . This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods ( PSN ) , a program that brings together law enforcement at all levels and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence . The goal is to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone . On May 26 , 2021 , the Department launched a strategy to strengthen PSN , focusing on building trust and legitimacy in our communities , supporting organizations that work to prevent violence , setting targeted enforcement priorities , and measuring the results . After Reyes got arrested for unrelated state charges on Aug . 11 , 2023 , federal agents from ATF , HSI , and U . S . Customs and Border Protection searched his cellphone . They found conversations between Reyes and another person discussing trafficking firearms to Venezuela . They also discovered that Reyes and some others were planning a murder - for - hire scheme . Between July 12 and August 9 , 2023 , Reyes and his buddies were keeping an eye on two potential victims that they wanted to kill because of a $60 , 000 debt . They followed these victims to different places around Jacksonville , even outside their home . Reyes even tried to hire a hitman for $15 , 000 , but luckily , the feds stepped in and arrested him before anyone got hurt . Hey everyone , U . S . Attorney Roger B . Handberg just announced that Antonio Jose Melean Reyes , a 29 - year - old guy from Jacksonville , pleaded guilty today to smuggling firearms from the U . S . and conspiring to use a facility of interstate commerce in a murder - for - hire . If convicted , Reyes could face up to 10 years in federal prison for each offense . No sentencing date has been set yet . This whole investigation was done by HSI , ATF , and U . S . Customs and Border Protection . The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U . S . Attorney Aakash Singh .
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