PHOENIX (AZFamily) — A man was sentenced to drug and weapons charges last month after trafficking pounds of meth through Phoenix while armed with an AR-15, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
On Sept. 29, Luis Fernando Gaxiola-Simons was sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of $5,370 on charges of transporting dangerous drugs for sale and misconduct involving weapons.
Prosecutors said authorities first arrested Luis Fernando Gaxiola-Simons during a traffic stop in Phoenix on May 23, when an officer noticed he had an AR-15 between the passenger seat and center console.
During a search of Gaxiola-Simons’ car, police found 15 one-pound burrito-shaped packages full of meth, according to the AG’s office. The AR-15 had been defaced, and Gaxiola-Simons reportedly had three loaded magazines in his possession.
“In addition to fentanyl and carfentanil, we’re stopping an increasing number of transnational drug traffickers transporting methamphetamine and cocaine through Arizona,” Mayes said in a statement. “My criminal division remains laser-focused on prosecuting individuals responsible for the scourge of drugs coming over our Southern border. If you are trafficking drugs through Arizona, you will be found, and you will be held accountable.”
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