McALLEN — An ex-convict was sentenced to a 21-month prison sentence for violation of federal firearm charges, records show.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Luis Arturo Bazan to the prison sentence related to the seizure of a pistol and ammunition from his Pharr residence in July 2019.
The 37-year-old man made his initial federal court appearance on the aforementioned charge on Dec. 10, 2019. There, the sole charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm — a violation of federal law — was formally read against him.
Federal agents also seized prohibited items from Bazan’s residence in April of that same year.
FBI agents “executed a federal search warrant” on Bazan’s Facebook account.
“Bazan is a known member of the Loco 13 street gang organization whose name has appeared on membership rosters prepared by the gang. Additionally, Bazan regularly appears in photographs posted on his Facebook account with other members of Loco 13,” the complaint against Bazan states.
The complaint also states FBI agents observed other photos and videos posted to Bazan’s Facebook, showing Bazan holding and shooting guns.
“A video uploaded November 19, 2018 to Bazan’s Facebook profile shows Bazan firing a functional pistol at Point Blank Sporting Goods shooting range in Pharr, Texas with ammunition visible on the table in front of him,” the document states.
Another video, uploaded in February 2019, shows a minor believed to be Bazan’s son firing the same gun from the November 2018 video.
On July 2, 2019, FBI agents seized a 9mm pistol and roughly 30 rounds of ammunition during the execution of a search warrant at Bazan’s residence in Pharr.
Bazan, FBI agents learned, was convicted of attempted murder in February 2006 after he pleaded guilty to the second degree felony. The state court sentenced Bazan to 10 years deferred. The following March, Bazan’s sentence was adjudicated and Bazan was placed on supervised release for eight years. That supervision ended in 2015.
In addition to the 21-month prison sentence handed down Tuesday, the court also imposed a three-year supervised release term for Bazan, which will be served concurrently with a separate state charge he is facing.
