A U.S. Coast Guard chief petty officer is awaiting to be sentenced after pleading guilty to one count of running a firearms sales business without a license, federal authorities said.
Matthew Keeth Staton appeared Wednesday before U.S. District Court Judge Rolando Olvera Jr. who accepted Staton’s plea and scheduled him to be sentenced on May 31.
A federal grand jury indicted Staton on the charge Jan. 21, 2020, federal documents reflect.
According to the federal authorities, Staton was employed with the U.S. Coast Guard when he sold five Palmetto State Armory “Build the Wall” .308 caliber rifles to Luis Enrique Vallejo, although he did not have a license to do so.
Vallejo, 41, of San Benito, was a former law enforcement officer who was federally convicted for his role in attempting to export the same firearms into Mexico with the serial numbers removed, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said in a news release.
Vallejo was indicted March 17, 2020, on one count of possession of firearm with an obliterated serial number. He pleaded guilty to the charge Sept. 27, 2022, and was sentenced to 13 months in federal prison Jan. 1, 2023, according to federal court documents.
Staton faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Coast Guard.
