Defendant Sentenced In The Lawman Gun Shop Case

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Julio Medina-Mojica, former President of the Humacao Shooting Range, was sentenced to 27 months in prison for unlawful production of an identification document, specifically, a Puerto Rico Concealed Carry Weapons Permit announced Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. Medina-Mojica pled guilty on March 10, 2015.

On or about the 21st day of May, 2012, in the District of Puerto Rico, the defendants aiding  and  abetting  others,  did willfully  and  knowingly cause, without lawful authority, production of identification documents, authentication features, and false identification documents, to wit, a Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Concealed Carry Weapons  Permit  under  Weapons  Permit  Number  XX129, in coordination with referrals by and through The Lawman Gun Shop using an intermediary who was both his employee and a Police of Puerto Rico auxiliary officer.

Defendant Medina-Mojica falsified that weapons training certifications were completed when they were, in fact, not. The defendant admitted that he did this for pecuniary gain in coordination with referrals by and through the Lawman Gun Shop, a federally licensed firearms dealer.  The loss generated during the course of the scheme, which involved possession of five or more means of identification, was greater than $120,000. Medina-Mojica also admitted that there were more than 10 victims in this scheme.

“The defendant was entrusted with certifying that proper training was given for individuals who were issued Concealed Carry Weapons Permit, as mandated by Puerto Rico law,” said Rosa Emilia Rodríguez-Vélez, U.S. Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “This is a regulated process in which firearm instructors or shooting clubs are assigned a specific authorization number and seal by the Police of Puerto Rico that are used to certify the completion form. Rather than fulfill that solemn responsibility, Julio Medina-Mojica, acted in concert with others, and sold pre-signed and stamped forms for $50.00 each. He sold out that responsibility.”

Former attorney Antonio M. Peluzzo-Perotin was sentenced on March 25, 2015, to 90 months in prison, and three years of supervised release.

María Del Carmen Rivera-Negrón and Julio Colón-Santiago co-owned The Lawman Gun Shop, a federally licensed firearms (FFL) dealer. Using their positions, the defendants participated in a scheme to have Commonwealth of Puerto Rico Concealed Carry Weapons Permits issued without compliance with applicable law. Both defendants plead guilty and the sentence is scheduled for July 15, 2015.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Puerto Rico Police Department (PRPD) are in charge of the investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys José Capó-Iriarte and Luke Cass.