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A man in Hidalgo County was arrested by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after one of their undercover agents sold the man two “grenade-style destructive devices,” according to a criminal complaint.
Jamez Aaron Sandoval, a United States citizen born in 1998, was charged with receiving or possessing a firearm that is not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
The transaction occurred Thursday, according to the complaint.
An ATF undercover agent met with Sandoval at a location in Hidalgo County and showed Sandoval how to use the grenade-style devices, the complaint said.
After Sandoval indicated he understood the instructions given to him by acknowledging how to assemble the devices, he displayed U.S. currency to the agent which indicated that he had the money to buy the devices.
Sandoval then took possession of the devices and walked toward his vehicle where he was arrested.
Authorities discovered that Sandoval was armed with a Glock 9mm with an extended high capacity magazine during the transaction, the complaint said.
Special agents and an ATF explosives expert inspected the grenade-style destructive devices and determined that both grenades contained all the necessary components to meet the definition of a destructive device.
The two devices weren’t registered in the National Firearms Registry and Transfer Record.
Additionally, a query of the National Firearms Registry and Transfer Record for Sandoval’s name produced negative results, meaning that Sandoval wasn’t able to lawfully possess a destructive device.
Sandoval will appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker in McAllen federal court for his preliminary and detention hearing Monday morning.
