NC man pleads not guilty in gun smuggling case
Published 1:10 am Thursday, November 24, 2011
A Greensboro, N.C., man arrested in Mississippi and accused of conspiring to smuggle weapons into Mexico has pleaded not guilty to a federal conspiracy charge.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Walker ordered 18-year-old Javier Molina held without bond Tuesday following his appearance in U.S. District Court in Gulfport, Miss. He was indicted along with Jose Luis Santos-Garcia on federal charges of conspiracy to smuggle goods outside the United States.
Jackson County sheriff’s deputies arrested Molina on Nov. 1 in a traffic stop at the Mississippi Welcome Center on Interstate 10. After a search of Molina’s black Ford Ranger, authorities found various weapons and ammunition hidden inside a spare tire and in the truck’s frame.
Both men remained in federal custody.