He maintained that most gun dealers were honest and vigilant and report suspicious activity. And he called it unfair to make gun stores responsible for what their customers do: "That's like holding a car manufacturer liable for traffic accidents."
The dealers here in Sierra Vista said they reported any customer they did not feel comfortable about.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Friday, August 29, 2008 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 3 inches; 111 words Type of Material: Correction
Weapons smuggling: An article in Section A on Aug. 10 about guns being smuggled into Mexico and used by narcotics traffickers said that "high-powered automatic weapons and ammunition are flowing virtually unchecked from border states into Mexico." The guns purchased in the U.S. are semiautomatic or conventional firearms. It also stated that Mexicans cannot legally own firearms. Mexicans can own some types of firearms, but most high-caliber and advanced weapons such as those being smuggled in are restricted to the military and law enforcement. Also, the name of a suspect arrested in May was misstated as Joaquin "Shorty" Guzman. The suspect was Guzman's cousin, Alfonso Gutierrez Loera. Guzman remains at large.
Mike Benton runs Guns & Gear, which is easy to find on East Fry Boulevard; a U.S. flag out front marks the spot. He said two men claiming to be American citizens recently purchased four or five long guns.
"They had the necessary documents, and an instant FBI check was approved," Benton said. Still, he thought it unusual and notified authorities. "I never heard back," he said.
Shop owners heard back when they called about Adan Rodriguez. At 335 pounds, Rodriguez was easy to remember after he started showing up at shops in Mesquite, Texas, outside Dallas.
Over a series of months, Rodriguez purchased 112 assault-class rifles, 9-mm Beretta pistols, revolvers and high- caliber rifles, court records show.
The dealers alerted the ATF's Dallas office, and Tom Crowley, a special agent there, said that an undercover officer and hidden video camera were planted.
Seduced by money
Arrested, Rodriguez complained that he was making just $1,400 a month laying carpet and had lost his job. He said that his mother was disabled and that he had hoped to marry soon.
Then a friend of a friend introduced him to "Kati" and "Cesar," and they convinced him to do a little side work for some Mexican clients.
Kati and Cesar provided Rodriguez with cash amounts of up to $12,000, often in thousand-dollar stacks. Sometimes they sent an older Latino man, "Jefe," ("Boss") to deliver the money for guns.
When he bought the weapons, he took them to safe houses in Dallas.
At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez told the agents, he was being pushed to buy hand grenades and a rocket launcher too.
One of the Berettas was used in a shootout in Reynosa, Mexico, that left a cartel member dead and injured two Mexican federal agents.
In a handwritten letter to The Times from his prison cell in Seagoville, Texas, Rodriguez described how he got in deeper and deeper with the cartels.
"It started out by selling one of my personal guns, and things went on [from] there," he said. "It was an easy way to make some money."
Rodriguez hesitated to write more: "I worry about my safety and my family's safety."
The cartels, as he knows, are well-armed.
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richard.serrano@latimes.com
