Smith County man guilty of arming cocaine dealer

TYLER – A Tyler man has been convicted of federal firearms violations. According to a release from the Eastern District of Texas Public Affairs Office, Francisco Martinez, also known as Cisco, 23, was found guilty by a jury of selling a firearm to a person intending to use it in drug trafficking crimes and possessing a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The verdict was reached following a trial before U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on March 4, 2025.

“This verdict continues to demonstrate how relentless the Eastern District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office and its FBI and ATF partners will work to combat violent crime,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. “As promised, my office and our law enforcement partners will find drug and illicit gun dealers and take them off the streets.”

“Every family should have the opportunity to live in a safe community,” said Dallas FBI Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock. “Along with our law enforcement partners, we remain firmly committed to provide protection for the residents in our area of responsibility and to disrupt and dismantle threats that endanger our neighborhoods.”

“As the old adage goes, guns and drugs just don’t mix. Unfortunately for Mr. Martinez, he has found this out the hard way. ATF’s priority will always be to keep our communities free of violent actors. This conviction does just that. I would like to thank all our partners who helped in this investigation and continue to keep East Texas safe.” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

According to information presented in court, Martinez was known to law enforcement as a black-market source of firearms in Tyler. While conducting a drug trafficking investigation in Tyler, Martinez was located accompanying a known cocaine dealer to a drug purchase in a grocery store parking lot. Martinez provided an AK-47 firearm as part of the drug transaction. Martinez was indicted by a federal grand jury on October 18, 2023.

He faces up to life in federal prison at sentencing. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a pre-sentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Dallas Division – Tyler Resident Agency; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Tyler Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dustin Farahnak and Lucas Machicek.