Rather than charge them in state court, which would yield shorter prison terms, the allegations were presented to a federal grand jury that handed up indictments. If convicted, they face five-year minimum mandatory sentences in prison for the firearm offense alone. A second firearm offense while selling drugs would bring a 25-year mandatory minimum sentence, above and beyond the penalty for trafficking.
Huber and Squires pointed to four alleged traffickers indicted for drug dealing while carrying firearms. The arrests are part of the continuing Operation Rio Grande that seeks to crack down on drug dealing and violence around The Road Home Shelter downtown.