Mexican National Sentenced for Illegally Exporting Firearms to Mexico
Juan Jose Roque, a Mexican national illegally living in Garland, Texas, was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison for illicitly exporting firearms from the U.S. to Mexico, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced Aug. 29. Roque pleaded guilty in April, and is expected to face removal proceedings after his imprisonment given that he is not a U.S. citizen, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
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In December 2020, law enforcement officers carried out a traffic stop involving Roque after he failed to use a signal to change lanes, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. After the stop, authorities found 13,000 rounds of ammunition and a weapon in the defendant's vehicle. A later investigation found that Roque worked with his wife, Brendalit Hernandez, and co-conspirator, Juan Marvin Garcia, both of Garland, to export ammunition and firearms to Mexico. Garcia was sentenced to 36 months in prison while Hernandez pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in September.