Lake County man pleads guilty in federal gun trafficking investigation

Acting United States Attorney Sara Sweeney says there has been a guilty plea in a federal firearms trafficking case.

Jose G. Medina, 49, of Leesburg, pleaded guilty to three counts of knowingly making a materially false statement in connection with the acquisition of a firearm and three counts of causing a federal firearm licensee to maintain false information in its official records.

The Justice Department says Medina faces up to 10 years in federal prison for each false statement offense and up to five years for each record-keeping offense. His sentencing date has not yet been set.

The announcement states that Medina “straw-purchased” multiple firearms for other people in 2023. Some of these firearms were intercepted by the United States Custom and Border Patrol when others tried to get them across the border into Mexico.

According to court documents, one individual was stopped trying to get into Mexico at Texas’ Eagle Point with 10 handguns, nine rifles, seven shotguns, 20 ammunition magazines and large amounts of assorted ammunition on May 27, 2023. That person told reportedly authorities he was traveling from Orlando to San Diego de la Union, Guanajuato, Mexico. Medina had purchased one of these recovered firearms nine days earlier.

Border patrol officers say they stopped another individual at the Eagle Pass port of entry on Nov. 17, 2023. This person also was trying to bring five firearms into Mexico. Medina had purchased two of these firearms less than two weeks earlier, prosecutors say.

A record check by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives showed that Medina had purchased 82 firearms for a total of $42,085.61 in 2023. This amount amount exceeded his reported annual income.

The investigation also revealed that another firearm purchased by an associate of Medina had recently been recovered and electronically traced by Mexican law enforcement using ATF’s e-Trace system.

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