Las Vegas Sun

February 12, 2012

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Man sentenced after using straw buyers for Mexico-bound guns

By Steve Kanigher

Tuesday, March 9, 2010 | 11:48 a.m.

A man who used straw buyers to purchase at least 28 rifles and handguns in Las Vegas, knowing that the firearms were going to be transported to Mexico for criminal activity, was sentenced Monday to 2 1/2 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release, Nevada's U.S. Attorney Daniel Bogden said today.

Claudio Caesar Penunuri, also known as “Zorra” and as Arturo Cardenas, pleaded guilty on Oct. 23 to dealing in firearms without a license. The 36-year-old Penunuri was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Mahan.

According to court records, from about July 25 to Dec. 23, 2008, Penunuri paid an individual identified only as J.V. to acquire more than $100,000 in firearms from licensed dealers in Las Vegas.

J.V. purchased the firearms in his name and in the names of others, and transported them to Penunuri in California. Penunuri also traveled to Las Vegas to pick up some of the firearms. Penunuri then sold the firearms to another individual from Sinaloa, Mexico, knowing that the guns were being transported to Mexico.

Penunuri admitted that he bought, sold, and disposed of the firearms with a profit motive and for criminal purposes. The plea memorandum lists 28 firearms that were purchased in Las Vegas by J.V. on behalf of the defendant. Twenty-five of the firearms were rifles, including four high-powered, .50-caliber rifles, and the rest were 5.7-caliber pistols. It is estimated that the firearms were worth more than $100,000.

Before his arrest, Penunuri was residing in Anaheim, Calif. He is originally from Mexico and is in the United States unlawfully.

Another individual who obtained several firearms in Las Vegas for Penunuri, Uvaldo Salazar-Lopez, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm and was sentenced on June 30 to time served.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Dickinson.

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