Fredericksburg Man Pleads Guilty In Gun Trafficking Case

FREDERICKSBURG, VA — A Fredericksburg man pleaded guilty in federal court to charges related to a gun trafficking conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Court documents claimed that the man, Jesus Funez Fuentes, helped orchestrate a straw purchasing ring.

Authorities said that Fuentes, who was prohibited from owning or purchasing firearms, used two co-conspirators to purchase 62 firearms on his behalf. Fuentes was a convicted of firearms-related charges in New York in 2011 and was wanted by authorities in Virginia for failing to appear in court on a narcotics charge.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said Fuentes sold all but one of the illegally purchased firearms for a profit. The two women who authorities identified as Fuentes's co-conspirators also pleaded guilty in federal court.

Some of the firearms identified as straw purchases were recovered police officers in Maryland and Virginia.

Raj Parekh is the acting U.S. Attorney for the eastern district of Virginia. "The straw purchasing of firearms poses a significant threat to our communities by placing guns in the hands of unlicensed and potentially dangerous individuals," Parekh said. "The Department of Justice is determined to take concrete steps to reduce the tragic toll of gun violence in our communities."

One of the firearms sold by Fuentes was used in three different attempted murders in Baltimore in May 2020, according to a ballistics evaluation conducted by the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.

Fuentes's two co-conspirators, Shelby Lee Apperson and Maria Antonia Lovos, are also from Fredericksburg. Apperson is accused of purchasing 32 firearms for Fuentes between August 2018 and January 2020. Lovos is accused of purchasing 30 firearms for Fuentes in one month in 2019.

Apperson and Lovos face up to five years in prison when they are sentenced on Sept. 22 and Oct. 27, respectively.

Fuentes, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements to federal firearms licensees in the course of purchasing firearms and one count of possessing ammunition as a prohibited person, will be sentenced on Oct. 20. He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison.