Gun Trafficker Sentenced For Armed Robbery Of Undercover ATF Agent

SAN DIEGO, CA — A 20-year-old Chula Vista man who was trafficking firearms and robbed an undercover federal agent at gunpoint was sentenced Thursday to more than 11 years in federal prison.

Jonathan Manuel Flores met with the undercover agent in order to sell him a gun, then stole the cash the agent brought for the purported firearm sale, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Prosecutors say the gun purchase stemmed from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigation into the trafficking of unserialized "ghost guns" and other illegally modified weapons.

As part of that investigation, ATF special agents arranged for the gun sale, which took place on Feb. 17, 2023, in the parking lot of the Walmart on Murphy Canyon Road.

Prosecutors say that the agent met with Flores inside a car and during the meeting, Flores pushed a gun into the agent's ribcage, said "Get the f- -- out of the car dog before I smoke you" and took the cash.

The agent got out of the car and Flores left, but he was later arrested by San Diego police.

Flores pleaded guilty last year to charges of assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, and engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license. His plea agreement states that he and a co-defendant sold firearms to undercover ATF agents on at least five other occasions.

Flores was sentenced Thursday to 135 months in custody.

— City News Service