Former Albuquerque gun store owner pleads guilty in machine gun trafficking scheme

A former Albuquerque gun store owner has pleaded guilty in a cross-country machine gun trafficking scheme that was once tied to a former Bernalillo County sheriff and other local law enforcement.

James Christopher Tafoya has agreed to plead guilty to aiding and abetting the making of false statements in keeping records by a federal firearms licensee.

The owner of the now-shuttered JCT Firearms, in Albuquerque, was initially charged in 2023 with conspiracy to violate federal gun laws, unlawful importation of a firearm and making false statements in firearms records.

Federal prosecutors agreed to drop those charges as part of Tafoya’s plea agreement and after Tafoya’s attorney asked for a dismissal alleging entrapment. A sentencing date has not been set and Tafoya faces a maximum of a year in prison and $100,000 fine.

Tafoya’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.

In a 2023 indictment, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives alleged Tafoya used law letters submitted by former Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, Undersheriff Rudy Mora and a New Mexico State Police armorer to import automatic weapons into the country.

Automatic weapons have been restricted in the U.S. for decades but, according to the ATF, can be imported following a written request by a local law enforcement agency, known as a law letter.

The plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland states Tafoya aided and abetted the alleged ringleader in the scheme, Sean Sullivan, in failing to keep and maintain accurate records “relating to his acquisition and disposition of machineguns.”

The plea agreement states that, from June 2018 through June 2021, Tafoya contacted Gonzales, Mora and the State Police armorer and “obtained and sought out signatures from these individuals for law letters ... to allow for the acquisition of machineguns.”

The ATF alleged Mora and Gonzales signed dozens of such letters to Tafoya to be used by Sullivan — a gun dealer and former Department of Homeland Security analyst — to import the guns into the country. The requested guns included automatic pistols and rifles but also relics, such as a World War I machine gun that was water-cooled and needed to be trailered behind a vehicle.

In the plea agreement, Tafoya admits to at least one act of aiding and abetting Sullivan by obtaining a law letter signed by Gonzales in October 2019 asking for the demonstration of a FAMAS machine gun. Tafoya gave the law letter “knowing it contained (a) false statement” to Sullivan, who submitted an application to import the weapon.

No wrongdoing has been alleged against Gonzales, Mora or the State Police armorer who was never identified or named in court records.

The ATF alleged in its initial filings that the law letters signed by Gonzales, Mora and the armorer were part of a ploy by Tafoya, Sullivan and others to acquire restricted weapons for resale to firearms dealers, gun enthusiasts and collectors. The ATF said the scheme likely raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Also charged in the case were Matthew Hall, former chief of police in Coats, North Carolina; James Sawyer, chief of police in Ray, North Dakota; and Larry Vickers, a firearms dealer and enthusiast who reviews guns on YouTube.

Federal authorities said Hall and Sawyer, who each face multiple felonies, signed nearly 90 law letters between them, requesting 170 guns for demonstration.

Of those requested by the police chiefs, 50 were imported by Sullivan.

As for Gonzales and Mora, the pair submitted more than 100 law letters to Tafoya, requesting more than 1,000 guns for demonstration between July 2015 and March 2021, according to federal court records. Of those requested, 20 guns were imported by Sullivan.

As part of the plea agreement, Tafoya will forfeit more than 100 firearms and firearm parts.