Rio Rico man sentenced nearly 7 years for smuggling ammunition

Jack Lechich | Arizona Republic/azcentral.com

A Rio Rico man was sentenced to nearly 7 years in prison Tuesday after being convicted of smuggling goods from the United States and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Fernando Romero-Salgado, 38, was charged after he and another man, Alberto De La Cruz-Cano, purchased 12,000 rounds of ammunition from a store in Phoenix in December 2016, officials said.

Their intent was to illegally transport the ammunition to Mexico, as they had done several times before, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

After they loaded the ammunition into his vehicle, Romero-Salgado drove to Rio Rico in southern Arizona, officials said. He subsequently was caught with the ammunition in his house, the office said.

Romero-Salgado had previously been convicted of four felony charges and was prohibited from possessing ammunition, officials said.

Romero-Salgado's total sentence is 82 months, officials said.

De La Cruz-Cano previously pleaded guilty to smuggling charges and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

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