Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Unlicensed Firearms Dealing (DOJ)

ALBUQUERQUE - An Albuquerque man pleaded guilty to dealing firearms without a license.

According to court documents, between 2019 and 2023, Anthony Lutz, 43, sold dozens of guns for profit. Lutz's operation was discovered after Mexican police seized one of his rifles at a crime scene in 2022, leading to an investigation by the ATF that linked him to 11 additional crime scene firearms, six from crime scenes in Albuquerque and six from crime scenes in Mexico, and uncovered evidence of approximately 82 firearms purchased by Lutz, including 50 of the same two AR-15 models.

In his plea agreement, Lutz admitted to building receivers into functional firearms and selling them for profit using online platforms such as JasonsGuns.com.

Lutz pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully dealing in firearms. In the plea agreement, the parties agreed to recommend that Lutz serve a term of five years of probation and pay a fine of $30,000.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.