Los Lunas man charged in undercover machine-gun trafficking probe

A Los Lunas man is facing federal machine-gun trafficking charges after undercover agents say they tracked Facebook posts advertising firearms and suspected machine guns, then worked for months to build a case that prosecutors described as a sustained operation. The allegations put a Valencia County address at the center of a wider federal push against illegal conversion devices that can turn ordinary pistols or rifles into fully automatic weapons.

Robert Gurule, 23, of Los Lunas, was charged with unlawful possession and transfer of a machine gun. Federal prosecutors said he remained in custody pending a detention hearing and could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Izatah Hausner, 21, of Albuquerque, was also charged and could face the same sentence on aiding-and-abetting allegations.

According to court filings, an undercover agent first identified Gurule in August and September 2025 through Facebook posts advertising firearms and suspected machine guns. The investigation then moved from social media to direct purchases. On Oct. 2, 2025, Gurule allegedly sold an undercover agent a rifle with a machinegun conversion device and a high-capacity drum magazine for $1,600, and demonstrated how it worked as a machine gun. On Dec. 5, 2025, he allegedly sold three machine guns and another firearm for $4,600.

Prosecutors said the operation continued into this spring. In April 2026, Gurule allegedly arranged to sell about 80 machinegun conversion devices along with additional firearms. On April 24, 2026, Gurule and Hausner allegedly met the agent, displayed the devices and negotiated an $11,500 sale before both were arrested at the scene after the agent took possession of the conversion devices.

A machinegun conversion device, often called a switch or drop-in auto sear, is a small part that can make a firearm fire continuously with one trigger pull. Federal officials say that makes the weapon far more dangerous for officers, bystanders and anyone caught in the line of fire, especially when the devices are trafficked with additional guns and magazines. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says possession of the devices without proper licensing is illegal and can carry up to 10 years in prison.

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez said the case showed what can happen when agencies coordinate against illegal trafficking of conversion devices. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison called the sales a “deliberate escalation of violence,” while ATF Special Agent in Charge A. J. Gibes said the trafficking has become a “transnational threat.”

ATF also says law enforcement reported about 45,240 suspected privately made firearms recovered from potential crime scenes nationwide from 2016 through 2021, including 692 homicides or attempted homicides. Federal prosecutors said a 2024 Bernalillo County case involving social-media gun sales showed the Gurule case was part of a broader enforcement pattern in New Mexico, not an isolated arrest.