Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer And Two Conspirators Sentenced To Federal Prison For Trafficking Firearms

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos E. Mendoza has sentenced three individuals for their roles in a gun trafficking conspiracy. Matthew L. Stephen Easton (35, Melrose) was sentenced to 11 years and 8 months in federal prison for firearms trafficking. Ernesto Vazquez (23, Kissimmee) and Derick Yamir Perez Diaz (22, Orlando) were each sentenced to 11 years in federal prison for conspiracy to traffic firearms. All three previously pleaded guilty.

According to the plea agreements, Easton, a federally licensed firearms dealer, supplied Perez Diaz with large quantities of firearms, despite knowing that Perez Diaz was dealing in firearms without a license. Perez Diaz, in turn, trafficked those firearms to Vazquez who resold them to an individual who smuggled them out of the country. Between October and December 2023, more than 100 Glock pistols and AK-47 rifles were trafficked, including those pictured below:

Additionally, Vazquez and Perez Diaz admitted to trafficking machinegun conversion devices:

On April 18, 2024, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant at Vazquez’s residence. Inside, they found multiple firearms, stockpiles of ammunition, and grenades:

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Noah P. Dorman and Dana E. Hill.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.