Tucson Couple Sentenced to 5 Years Prison for Weapons Smuggling

     TUCSON, Ariz. – On September 3, 2019, Michael Justin Huynh, 29, of Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 63 months’ imprisonment.  Huynh’s co-defendant, Katie Ellen O’Brien, 28, also of Tucson, was sentenced by Judge Zipps to 60 months’ imprisonment on January 16, 2019.  Both had previously pleaded guilty to smuggling AK-type and .50 caliber semiautomatic assault rifles from the United States into Mexico.

     Between June of 2017 and January of 2018, Huynh and O’Brien together purchased a total of at least 16 AK-type semiautomatic rifles and three .50 caliber semiautomatic rifles.  They purchased these firearms for another individual whom they knew was a drug trafficker, and provided the firearms to the trafficker with the knowledge that they would be smuggled into Mexico and provided to a criminal organization.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  The prosecution was handled by Angela W. Woolridge, Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Arizona, Tucson.