Chula Vista man sentenced to prison for robbing ATF agent during machine gun sale
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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — A 20-year-old Chula Vista man was sentenced to 135 months in prison on Thursday for robbing an undercover federal agent at gunpoint during a machine gun sale gone wrong in San Diego, federal prosecutors announced.
The sentencing of Jonathan Manuel Flores follows an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) into the trafficking of untraceable 'ghost guns' and firearms modified with illegal automatic conversion devices.
According to court records, ATF agents had been investigating Flores as part of a months-long undercover operation targeting the sale of privately manufactured firearms. On Feb. 17, 2023, agents arranged to purchase a Glock pistol equipped with an illegal 'Glock switch,' a conversion device that transforms a semi-automatic pistol into a fully automatic weapon. The asking price for the firearm was $2,400, federal prosecutor explained.
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The transaction was set to take place in the parking lot of a Walmart on Murphy Canyon Road, located in San Diego's Serra Mesa community. At Flores' insistence, the undercover ATF agent entered the backseat of Flores' car, where two other individuals were already seated in the front. Inside the vehicle, reportedly Flores displayed a Glock pistol with an extended magazine and an installed machine gun conversion device.
When the undercover agent asked to inspect the firearm, Flores demanded to see the money first. After the agent counted out $2,000 in cash, Flores chambered a round in the pistol, pressed the gun into the agent's ribcage, and said, 'Get the f— out of the car dog before I smoke you.' He then grabbed the cash and fled the scene with his accomplices. The agent escaped without injury.
According to federal prosecutors, Flores was apprehended shortly afterward with the assistance of the San Diego Police Department and the El Cajon Police Department.
'This robbery is a stark reminder of the extreme danger our agents face every day in their efforts to keep illegal firearms off our streets,' said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. 'We are grateful for our law enforcement partners working to keep these dangerous firearms out of the hands of felons.'
Flores is now set to spend over 11 years behind bars for his crimes.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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