Arizona Gun Store Owner Charged With Terrorism for Selling Guns to Jalisco, Sinaloa Cartels

Prosecutors in the state of Arizona have formally charged two men with providing firearms to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) and the Sinaloa cartel.

Laurence Gray, a 65-year-old man who owns Grips of Larry, is accused of knowingly attempting to provide firearms to Mexican cartels in May 2025. According to the Tucson Sentinel, he agreed to sell a .50-caliber sniper rifle and three military-grade belt-fed rifles that were destined for Mexican criminal organizations.

As noted by the outlet, .50-caliber rifles are popular among Mexican cartels because their heavy rounds remain accurate beyond 2,000 yards and can easily penetrate buildings and vehicles.

According to a statement from the Department of Justice, convictions for conspiracy to and attempting to provide material support to a designated terrorist organization each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. The additional charges they face carry penalties ranging from 10 to 15 years in prison.

According to the Tucson Sentinel, this is the first case in Arizona with these charges since the Trump administration designated Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations last year.

James Cauble, a special undercover agent with the Arizona Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said his agency, along with Homeland Security Investigations, had been looking into gun stores in Arizona, focusing on large-caliber firearm purchases and buying patterns "consistent with complicity in the straw purchases that are recovered in Mexico in under 120 days."

Cauble told the court ATF agents have "seen a major increase in firearms trafficking" and said the agency began investigating "at-risk" gun stores where purchased weapons quickly appear in Mexico. He added that ATF targeted Grips of Larry because the store sold large-caliber and belt-fed weapons.

As part of the investigation, the ATF sent a confidential informant to purchase three weapons for $42,500, including a .50-caliber sniper rifle and two belt-fed M249S rifles on April 14, 2025. The informant had previously purchased a .38-caliber 1911-style pistol from the men, Cauble said.

Agents returned to the store on May 31 and purchased an Ohio Ordnance .50-caliber rifle and a second 1911 pistol. During the second purchase, Gray allowed another man to complete the Form 4473 for the rifle while one of the agents asked about "ornate grips bearing the image of a rooster" and bought them for $250, along with the 1911 for $4,000.

According to court documents, the undercover agent told Prince the rooster symbol is associated with the CJNG and said the firearms would be sent to Mexico for the criminal organization.

As noted earlier this month by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the majority of firearms used by cartels originate in the United States.

"The criminal groups, the weapons they have, at least 75 percent of them come from the United States," Sheinbaum said, citing a statistic confirmed by the U.S. Department of State that most firearms used by criminal groups in Mexico are smuggled from the United States.

Since taking office in 2024, Sheinbaum's administration has implemented a strategy to curb the flow of weapons across the border.

Since October 2024, data from the Defense and Navy ministries, along with information requests to Mexico's National Customs Agency and the National Guard, show that in the first year and a half of her administration, officials have seized 26,952 weapons, more than double the number seized during the administration of her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.