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2 Army Reservists Plead Not Guilty To Selling Firearms To Undercover DEA Agent

Two U.S. Army reservists assigned to an East County National Guard Armory pleaded not guilty Thursday to selling firearms, ammunition and body armor to an undercover DEA agent posing as a drug cartel member.

Jaime Casillas, 22, of El Cajon and Andrew Reyes, 34, of La Mesa were ordered held without bail pending a detention hearing Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mitchell Dembin.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Haden argued that Casillas — a Mexican citizen — and Reyes were both flight risks because they travel to Mexico three to four days a week.

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Casillas and Reyes are each charged with illegally dealing firearms and Reyes is additionally charged with the unlicensed transportation of firearms into California.

Both defendants were assigned to the Army National Guard armory over an eight-month period in which seven separate transactions occurred, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

They allegedly sold four AR-15 rifles, an AK-47 assault rifle, a .40- caliber pistol, a 7.62-caliber pistol and thousands of rounds of ammunition to the undercover agent who told them the firearms were destined for Mexico.

Some of the guns bought in Texas had their serial numbers removed or replaced with fake ones because they had been stolen or used in a crime, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

During a meeting with the undercover agent last August, Casillas allegedly claimed that one of the guns had been used to "do a job" in Tijuana, according to the complaint.

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Casillas and Reyes also allegedly sold one of the guns while still wearing their U.S. Army uniforms and told the undercover agent that some of the body armor and ammunition were taken from the military's inventory. Over an eight-month period, 10 firearms were seized.

Casillas made $2,700 from the transactions and Reyes pocketed more than $12,000, Haden alleged.

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