Las Vegas Man Sentenced To Over 10 Years In Prison For Drug And Firearm Crimes

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas resident was sentenced to 121 months in prison for selling methamphetamine, cocaine, and multiple firearms – including three machineguns.

Francis Araujo (33) pleaded guilty in September 2022 to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and illegal possession of machineguns. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro sentenced Araujo on Tuesday to five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, between August 1, 2021 and February 24, 2022, Araujo conspired with others to distribute cocaine and at least 500 grams of methamphetamine. On December 9, 2021, Araujo sold three privately made AR-15 style firearms.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada; Acting Special Agent in Charge Christopher M. Miller for HSI Las Vegas; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) made the announcement.

HSI, ATF, and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Sokolich prosecuted the case.

If you have information about potential criminal activity, call HSI at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or submit a tip online at: https://www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.

If you have information about illegal firearms activity, submit a tip to ATF by calling the hotline at 1-800-ATF-GUNS (1-800-283-4867) or through the ReportIt mobile app.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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