Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Two U.S. Army soldiers were indicted by a grand jury late last year for allegedly attempting to sell stolen weapons and explosives that they thought were headed for Mexico, according to court documents obtained by Newsweek. The outlet reports that former U.S. Army soldier Tyler Sumlin and Sergeant First Class Jason Jarvis have been charged with eight counts of trying to sell firearms, military equipment, and explosives across state lines and out of the country. Jarvis allegedly rented a Chevy Tahoe in North Carolina and packed up the vehicle with weapons including a short-barreled rifle, silencers, and five pounds of C-4 explosive. Jarvis then allegedly drove to Florida, met up with Sumlin, wiped the items down to remove finger prints, and drove to El Paso, Texas, to sell the items. The documents say the scheme began in June 2018 and ended in November.
According to Newsweek, Jarvis and Sumlin sold the items to undercover Homeland Security agents whom the soldiers believed to be buyers that would transport the items across the border—potentially to a Mexican cartel. The items they were allegedly selling were all stolen. The website reports Sumlin was allegedly supposed to make $12,000 from the deal, and Jarvis was slated to get $2,000. Sumlin allegedly told officials that six others took part in the deal. The Pentagon is reportedly working to provide more information on the indictment, and Sumlin and Jarvis’ attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.