Federal authorities have indicted four individuals in Asheville on firearms and immigration charges as part of Operation Take Back America, a national initiative aimed at addressing violent crime, illegal immigration, and criminal organizations.
U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson announced the indictments returned by a grand jury in Asheville. The defendants include Justin Allen Owenby, 27, of Asheville, who is accused of unlawfully possessing a Glock 48, 9mm pistol despite prior felony convictions; Gregory Lee Pettit, 51, of Candler, N.C., charged with possession of an unregistered grenade and being an unlawful user addicted to a controlled substance while possessing a firearm; William Stanley Ellwood, 38, of Cherokee, N.C., charged with possession of an unregistered firearm silencer and receiving and possessing a silencer without a serial number; and Rafael Martinez-Reano, 35, of Rutherfordton, N.C., charged with illegal reentry into the United States after having been deported twice previously.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office emphasized that “the charges in the indictments are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked several agencies for their investigative work leading to these charges: the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Homeland Security Investigations; Emergency Removal Operations; North Carolina State Highway Patrol; North Carolina Department of Public Safety Alcohol Law Enforcement; Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office; and Cherokee Indian Police Department.
The cases will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.
Operation Take Back America brings together resources from the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration and organized crime through initiatives such as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
