OCALA, FL—United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces the return by a grand jury of a three-count indictment charging Pedro Luis Infantes (47) and his son, Luis Rafael Infantes (21), both of Ocala, with the theft of government property, interstate transportation of stolen property and making a false statement to a federal agency. If convicted on all counts, Pedro Luis Infantes faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison. His son faces a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. The indictment was returned on August 13, 2014.

According to the indictment and other court documents, on July 11, 2014, Pedro Luis Infantes unwittingly met with a confidential source who was working in cooperation with law enforcement. Pedro Luis Infantes believed that the source had connections to potential buyers affiliated with Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Ultimately, Pedro Luis Infantes negotiated a sale price of $153,500 for 17 military-grade, thermal-imaging monoculars, rifle cleaning kits, and other assorted military equipment that had been stolen from the government. When arrested and interviewed by the FBI agents, Pedro Luis Infantes provided false statements to the agents about how he had acquired the military items and how the serial numbers on the items had been removed.

Luis Rafael Infantes is an active-duty supply sergeant for the United States Army at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He admitted to military investigators that he had illegally taken the thermal imaging equipment and other items from his base’s inventory and then given them to his father to sell. Luis Rafael Infantes said that he had stolen the items because he had fallen into financial trouble and needed the money.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case is investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.