Guatemalan Illegal Alien Sentenced for Role in Firearms Trafficking Conspiracy in HSTF Case

Baltimore, Maryland - A Guatemalan illegal alien, unlawfully in the United States, received a federal prison term, today, for charges stemming from a federal firearms investigation.

Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced Lester Ramos Perez, 29, to 78 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for his role in a firearms trafficking conspiracy and possessing a firearm as a prohibited person. Ramos Perez is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his citizenship status.

Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Charles Doerrer, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Special Agent in Charge Akil Baldwin, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - Maryland; Steven Schrank, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) - Atlanta; Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and Chief Marc R. Yamada, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD). This prosecution is part of the Trump Administration's Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative.

According to the guilty plea, in July 2024, ATF and HSI special agents began investigating Ramos Perez after suspecting that he was trafficking firearms from Alabama to Baltimore. Then in September 2024, Ramos Perez started living in Waldorf, Maryland.

During the investigation, through various law enforcement techniques, agents learned that Ramos Perez conspired with others to traffic firearms. Ramos Perez and a co-conspirator conspired to sell firearms during a controlled recorded transaction in Alabama and Maryland.

At least two of the firearms Ramos Perez sold to law enforcement were stolen. Additionally, at least two of the firearms Ramos Perez sold to law enforcement are classified as machineguns. Ramos Perez was also advised during this investigation that the individual he was selling firearms to possessed a criminal record and that they were purchasing the firearms on behalf of someone else. Ramos Perez knew he was selling the firearms to a prohibited person and that the person he was selling them to was not the ultimate (owner/end-user/possessor) of the firearms that he was illegally selling.

The Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Baltimore comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI); the United States Attorney's Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI); the United States Marshals Service (USMS); the Washington/Baltimore HIDTA (W/B HIDTA); the Maryland State Police (MSP); the Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and the Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD) with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the ATF, HSI, BPD, and MCPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Kim Y. Hagan who is prosecuting the federal case.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md .

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