Gang-Affiliated Gun Smuggler Sentenced to 7 Years in Prison

SAN ANGELO, TX – A gang-affiliated gun smuggler was sentenced to seven years in the Texas Penitentiary Thursday in the 119th District Court. According to court documents, Felix Antonio Piña was found guilty of firearm smuggling, a 3^rd degree felony, and sentenced to seven years in prison. He was also fined $2,500.

Assistant Prosecutors of the 119^th DA, Joe Johnson and Rachel Multer Michalewicz, argued that the trail followed by San Angelo police following the discharge of an AK-47 assault rifle in a San Angelo apartment by the defendant pointed to a much larger conspiracy to trade in stolen guns on San Angelo’s black market.

Judge Brad Goodwin allowed the jury to learn the fact that the defendant was a member of the Dark Side Two-Six gang, members of which are known arms dealers by local law enforcement. Goodwin did not allow, however, the jury to be told that Piña was high up in the gang’s local area hierarchy. That information was contained in what the court reporter described as a confession where the defendant made inflammatory statements to a police detective. That statement was recorded by SAPD Det. Nathan Carrasco.

According to 119^th DA John Best, the court learned in the trial, when briefed on the criminal investigation, that Dark Side Two-Six was a criminal street gang operating in San Angelo known to be involved in violent crimes and also vehicle burglaries where the gang members steal firearms.

According to the complaint, on April 28 of last year, SAPD was dispatched to an apartment in the 2900 block of San Antonio St. about a report of a discharged firearm. Police learned through their investigation that an AK-47 assault rifle was discharged there, and it belonged to Piña.

SAPD continued their investigation and discovered that Piña obtained the AK-47 in a trade in the Walmart parking lot on 29^th St.. There, Piña traded two .40 Glock handguns for the AK-47.  Both Glock’s serial numbers traced back to handguns stolen during two different vehicle burglaries in San Angelo.

The jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict after a little over an hour of deliberations Wednesday. The next day, the jury considered Piña’s punishment.

During their deliberations of Piña’s punishment, the jury requested transcripts of the defendant’s admission and denial of gang affiliation, according to the court reporter’s notes.

The jury returned Piña’s seven-year prison sentence and fine of $2,500 after an afternoon of deliberations Thursday.

“Stolen firearms in the wrong hands can lead to violence which has been all too common in San Angelo. The jury sent a strong message to the community that selling stolen guns and gang membership will not be tolerated in Tom Green County. We want to thank the jury for their careful attention and consideration of the evidence in this case. We also want to commend the San Angelo Police Department for their investigative efforts. The District Attorney’s Office is committed to working closely with all of our law-enforcement agencies to identify and prosecute individuals who knowingly participate in the illegal sale of stolen firearms,” stated 119^th DA John Best in a press release following the trial.

Thomas Williams was the court-appointed defense attorney.