LOS ANGELES – A Compton man with a lengthy criminal history was sentenced today to 156 months in federal prison for firearms offenses, including dealing firearms without a license.

Francisco Juantonio Hilt, 39, of Compton, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge R. Gary Klausner after a jury found him and Sean Ronaldo Alexander, 37, of South Los Angeles, guilty in March of seven illegal gun transactions involving a total of 30 guns, including military-style weapons and stolen firearms. The evidence at trial showed that the men believed they were supplying guns to the Armenian Mafia and the “Mexican Cartel,” and Hilt believed the buyer was a convicted felon. Both Hilt and Alexander were found guilty of conspiracy and engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. Hilt was also convicted of several counts of being a felon in possession of firearms and sale of a firearm to a convicted felon.

On July 12, 2017, Judge Klausner sentenced Alexander to 24 months' imprisonment.

A third con-conspirator – Jamie Maurice Thomas, 38, of South Los Angeles – pleaded guilty in November 2016 to conspiracy and selling a firearm to a convicted felon.  Judge Klausner sentenced Thomas to 63 months in federal prison in March.

The three defendants were charged as part of an operation last year by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) targeting the sale of guns in and around Compton and Mona Park in the Willowbrook area of Los Angeles. During the course of the year-long investigation, authorities took more than 100 illegally trafficked firearms off the streets, and 14 defendants were charged in federal and state court.

The case against Hilt, Alexander, and Thomas was investigated by ATF and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Veronica Dragalin of the General Crimes Section and Assistant United States Attorney Bryant Yang of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force Section.

Component(s): USAO – California, Central

Contact: Thom Mrozek Spokesperson/Public Affairs Officer United States Attorney's Office Central District of California (Los Angeles) 213-894-6947

Central District of California DOJ / 17-177 / October 2, 2017