Haverhill Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiring to Steal Firearms from Second Amendment Outdoors in Derry
CONCORD, N.H. – A Haverhill, Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today in federal court to conspiring to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.
Gary Ortiz, Jr., 19, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante scheduled sentencing for August 10, 2023. Ortiz and one of his co-conspirators, Jaythean Diaz, were indicted on July 11, 2022. Diaz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to steal firearms from a federal firearms licensee. U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante scheduled Diaz’s sentencing for July 25, 2023.
On December 8, 2021, Ortiz and his co-conspirators broke into Second Amendment Outdoors in Derry, New Hampshire and stole 12 firearms—11 pistols and one rifle. Videos recovered from the phone of a co-conspirator show Ortiz holding the stolen firearms, and messages recovered from Ortiz’s phone show searches for Second Amendment Outdoors before the burglary, as well as, searches for news about the burglary afterward. Additional text messages from Ortiz’s phone show that he was attempting to sell a firearm hours after the burglary.
The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 5 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, a maximum fine of $250,000 and restitution in an amount to be determined at sentencing. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (“ATF”) led the investigation. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lawrence Police Department, Methuen Police Department, Massachusetts State Police, Derry Police Department, Atkinson Police Department, Plaistow Police Department, Kingston Police Department, Windham Police Department, Hooksett Police Department, and Salem Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Kennedy is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities; supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place; setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring the results.
