SACRAMENTO, Calif. (The Update) — Two Sacramento men have been hit with federal charges for their alleged illegal manufacturing and sale of various firearms, including assault weapons, to undercover ATF agents and informants.
Andrew Jace Larrabure-Tuma and Juan Manriquez both face one count of unlawful manufacturing and dealing in firearms, according to a criminal complaint filed last week. According to authorities, Tuma and Manriquez ran a gun and drug trafficking operation in Sacramento and its surrounding areas, though they are only charged with gun-related offenses. ATF records show neither men have licenses to sell firearms.
According to court papers, the men first ran across authorities when Tuma sold a disassembled AR-15 and a full-auto switch to a federal informant for cash at a Safeway in Pollock Pines, California. That same informant is said to have later purchased a fully-automatic machinegun and 3.5 grams of cocaine at the same Safeway.
On August 12th, Tuma and the informant met in a parking lot in El Dorado Hills and exchanged cash. Tuma then went to Juan Manriquez, his alleged gun connect, and exchanged the cash for a 9mm rifle to sell to the informant. On August 24th, Tuma allegedly orchestrated a similar delivery, this time involving a Glock 35 that had been converted to a machinegun at a Raley’s parking lot.
After the informant met Manriquez, he made arrangements with the man to buy guns directly from him. Authorities say, during a deal on August 26th in a parking lot off Florin Road, Manriquez was recorded on hidden camera in the informant’s car discussing the deal.
Manriquez sold the informant a modified Glock 20, a Ruger 57 pistol, a Glock 19, and a full-auto switch for over $8,000. As he exited the car, Manriquez said “Nice doing business, anything you need hit me up. I got you”
On August 31st, the informant again met with Manriquez – this time bringing along a friend. That friend, unbeknownst to Manriquez, was an undercover ATF agent, court papers say.
Manriquez allegedly showed the individuals 11 firearms as they sat in a black sedan in a public parking lot in Sacramento County. When the purchase was arranged, however, Manriquez put the firearms in a bag in exchange for $26,000 cash. Upon further inspection, only nine firearms were in the bag. When the informant attempted to call Manriquez about the error, he never called back.
Tuma’s residence on College Oak Drive was raided by state and federal officers on September 28th, where authorities found partially complete firearms, manufacturing kits, accessories, and completed firearms. His Snapchat account was also allegedly monitored. Authorities say they found several videos of Tuma firing a Glock out of the window of his car near Bonetti Road in El Dorado County – an offense he hasn’t been charged for.
If convicted, both Manriquez and Tuma could face prison time of up to 5 years and a fine of as much as $250,000.
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