Anchorage, Alaska (KINY) – A federal jury convicted an Anchorage man on May 23 of one count of felony possession of firearms after a two-day trial.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on January 16, 2019, Zachary Lawrence Torres, 35, of Anchorage, Alaska, sold three firearms to a confidential source working for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco , Firearms and Explosives.
Torres sold the three firearms for $1,100 to the ATF confidential source through a deal brokered by another convicted felon who pleaded guilty to the same charges in 2019.
Torres is a convicted felon and is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.
Torres’ felony conviction is for a 2011 assault during which Torres and another individual instigated a street fight outside an Anchorage bar, leaving the victim with a broken jaw and orbit.
According to evidence presented at trial, on January 16, Torres drove his Cadillac into a parking lot on Northern Lights Boulevard in Anchorage, Alaska.
Before arriving, Torres told his partner: “Okay, I’m coming. If anything happens, I’ll shoot everyone.”
Inside his Cadillac, Torres possessed a Romarm/Cugir WASR-10 7.62x39mm semi-automatic rifle, a Legion Izhevsk Saiga 5.45x39mm semi-automatic rifle and an AR-15-style .223 semi-automatic rifle with a 9-inch barrel and no serial number.
Torres was charged in August 2019 but remained a fugitive until he was located and arrested in Arizona in December 2021.
Chief US District Judge Ralph Beistline, who presided over the trial, scheduled sentencing for September 13, 2023.
Torres faces a potential sentence of 10 years in prison.
He will remain in the custody of the US Marshals pending sentencing.
“The conviction of Zachary Torres should serve as a warning to criminals considering illegally trafficking dangerous weapons that their plans to endanger our community will fail,” said US Attorney S. Lane Tucker for the District of Alaska. “Our office and law enforcement partners are committed to protecting Alaskan communities from the threat of armed criminals.”
Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas C. Bradley and Ainsley McNerney prosecuted the case.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) conducted the investigation and controlled purchase that led to the charges in this case.
