Anthony Romero sentenced to nine years in connection with interstate gun trafficking scheme
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (KEYT) – Anthony Romero, 42, of Simi Valley was sentenced to nine years in federal prison for gun-related charges after a joint investigation of firearms trafficking into California from Texas.
On June 21, 2023, around 5:07. p.m., officers responded to a reported shooting at the River Ranch Apartments at 1546 Patricia Avenue and arrived to find a person with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound sitting on the curb stated a press release Thursday from the Simi Valley Police Department.
After an investigation of the shooting, detectives identified and arrested 42-year-old Anthony Romero for multiple felony charges including:
- PC 245(a)(2)-Aggravated Assault with a Firearm
- PC 29800(a)(1)-Felon in Possession of a Firearm
- PC 30305(a)(1)-Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm/Ammunition
The Simi Valley Police Department detailed that from March to June of 2023, officers noted an increase in gun-related incidents and arrests connected to criminal street gang, the West Side Locos.
Firearms had been recovered at a local school, during traffic stops, and through enforcement actions involving probationers and parolees in the area added the Simi Valley Police Department.
According to Simi Valley Police, during the investigation into Romero, detectives learned that the 42-year-old was living in both California and Texas and evidence showed that the Simi Valley man was illegally purchasing firearms in Texas and transporting them to California.
That information was shared with the Irving Police Department as well as the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' Dallas and Los Angeles Field Offices and a joint investigation revealed Romero, a convicted felon, was trafficking the weapons through New Mexico and Arizona before delivering them to members and associates of the West Side Locos explained the Simi Valley Police Department.
A federal grand jury in Texas was presented the gathered evidence and authorized a search warrant of Romero's Texas home which resulted in the collection of multiple illegal firearms shared the Simi Valley Police Department.
Romero was arrested in Simi Valley after a grand jury indictment was issued and he was extradited to Texas added the Simi Valley Police Department.
Simi Valley Police shared that Romero pled guilty to several firearms violations and on July 15, 2025, he was sentenced to nine years in federal prison.
