SANTA ANA (CNS) - A Santa Ana man was sentenced today to 10 years in federal prison for drug dealing and illegal sales of weapons, including “ghost guns,'' which are untraceable.
Pedro Javier Villalobos, 24, pleaded guilty in October to one count each of distributing methamphetamine and dealing firearms without a license.
Villalobos, who was caught as a result of an undercover sting, brokered the sale of 15 guns, including three AR-15-type rifles and several Glock-style .40-caliber pistols with the serial numbers removed, in August and September 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The defendant also helped sell two Mossberg 12-gauge shotguns to the undercover agent, and sold 367.8 grams of methamphetamine on three occasions in the same two-month time period, prosecutors said.
Villalobos was considered the main defendant among seven individuals named in an indictment unsealed in October 2019.
So far, five defendants have pleaded guilty, including Grank Nerida, 50, of Garden Grove, who was sentenced Jan. 25 to two years in prison, prosecutors said.
Co-defendants Jose Angel Vera, 28, of Santa Ana, and Kevan Ryan Perez, 33, of Santa Ana, are scheduled for trial on Feb. 23 and July 27, respectively.
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