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On March 30, 2008, an off-

encountered three suspects trying to steal a car in a restaurant parking lot.

As he approached the suspects, a

a gun into the ground near the

CRIMES, GUNS, AND AUTOMOBILES: NIBIN HITS HOME FOR PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT

Detectives from the Violent Crimes Bureau Assaults Unit processed the crime scene and recovered a .40 caliber cartridge case.

The cartridge case was imaged and entered into IBIS®, and then searched against the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) database on May 5, 2008.

On April 11, 2008, Phoenix Police

stop. Two occupants – Mr. Beltran-Lopez and Mr. Garcia-Gonzales – were arrested for presenting false IDs.

Incident to the arrest, police found two handguns in the vehicle: a .40 caliber

pistol. The two suspects were charged with Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

The .40 caliber Glock pistol

cases were entered into IBIS and searched against the NIBIN database on May 9, 2008.

The NIBIN search alerted police to a link between the .40 Glock and the cartridge case from the aggravated assault on the police

theft incident on March 30th.

The police investigation of the aggravated assault then began to focus on the two men arrested during the April 11and led to both suspects being

Mr. Beltran-Lopez pled guilty to Aggravated Assault and was sentenced to 7.5 years in prison.

Mr. Garcia-Gonzales also pled guilty to his related charges and he served time in the Maricopa County Jail before being released to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).