Los Angeles County and Nevada Men Charged in Indictment Alleging They Used Instagram to Sell Firearms, Including ‘Ghost Guns’

LOS ANGELES - A Nevada man was arraigned today on a federal grand jury indictment charging him and three other defendants - two of them from Los Angeles County - with using Instagram to sell more than 60 firearms, including ones lacking serial numbers - or "ghost guns" - as well as machine gun conversion devices known as "Glock switches."

Mark Perez, 22, of Henderson, Nevada, pleaded not guilty today at his arraignment in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. An August 6 trial date has been scheduled in this case. Perez is free on $10,000 bond.

Perez is charged along with Ivan Quintos, 27, of Azusa, and Salvador Lopez, 24, of Whittier, and Zachary Dry, 23, of Henderson, Nevada, with one count of conspiracy and one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. Perez also is charged with four counts of being a prohibited person in possession of firearms and ammunition, one count of possessing a firearm with a removed or altered serial number, and one count of possession of a machine gun.

According to the 11-count indictment that a federal grand jury returned on June 13, from July 2023 to May 2024, Perez and the other defendants used Instagram to coordinate and sell more than five dozen firearms. Some of the defendants used Instagram - direct messages and public posts - to sell the firearms, which included so-called "ghost guns" and "Glock switches" as well as firearms with obliterated serial numbers and firearms that had been stolen. The illegal firearm sales occurred in North Hollywood, Las Vegas, and elsewhere, the indictment alleges.

According to the indictment, Perez, Quintos, Lopez, and Dry are not federal firearms licensees and are not permitted to sell firearms. The indictment alleges that Perez is prohibited from possessing firearms due to his 2021 misdemeanor conviction in Nevada for domestic violence, and that Dry is prohibited from possessing firearms due to prior felony convictions for assault and battery in Nevada in 2023.

In addition to Perez, Quintos is charged with firearms trafficking and possession of a machine gun, Dry with possessing a firearm as a felon, Quintos with possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, and Lopez with possession of a firearm within a school zone.

Quintos and Dry have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them and await a trial date of August 6. Lopez's arraignment is scheduled for July 9.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, Perez faces a maximum sentence of 100 years in federal prison, Quintos faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in federal prison, Lopez faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison, and Dry faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in federal prison.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Baldwin Park Police Department, and Los Angeles Police Department are investigating this matter.

Assistant United States Attorney William M. Larsen of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.

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