Two men made their initial appearances in federal court Wednesday on charges related to the possession of 65 firearms, including machine guns, and silencers, stolen at a Las Vegas gun show last month.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich of the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Ray Roundtree of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives made the announcement.
Las Vegas residents Jamikko Foster, 27, and Eduardo Limon were each charged with possession of a stolen firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm. Foster is also charged with theft of a firearm from a Federal Firearms Licensee and unlawful possession of a machine gun. U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Koppe set a Feb. 27 preliminary hearing for the defendants.
As alleged in the criminal complaint, from Jan. 20 to 29, a total of 65 firearms and suppressors, also known as “silencers,” were stolen from the business inventory of three separate FFLs at the 2019 Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas. The SHOT Show, held annually at a Las Vegas convention center, requires FFLs to either disable or remove the firing pins from all displayed firearms. Based on these circumstances, ATF issued an alert to FFLs to be on the lookout for weapons missing firing pins.
On Feb. 10, a FFL alerted ATF about two men who inquired about purchasing a firing pin for an AR-style firearm. ATF was able to identify Foster and Limon from surveillance footage.
On Feb. 11, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Foster’s apartment and recovered 56 firearms, machine guns and silencers. The next day, a search warrant was executed at Limon’s residence and officers recovered an additional 10 firearms and silencers. One of the recovered pistols had a clamp attached to a security cable, which was still attached to the trigger guard.
If convicted, the maximum statutory penalty is 10 years in prison for each count and a $250,000 fine.
The charges contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
The case was investigated by the ATF San Francisco Field Division’s Las Vegas Field Office and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip N. Smith Jr. is prosecuting the case.
