Former Nashville police officer convicted of false statements in Guatemalan gun smuggling case
The Associated Press - December 20, 2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Nashville police officer was found guilty by a federal jury of two counts of making false statements when purchasing guns intended to be smuggled to Guatemala. According to prosecutors, Edwing Ronal Morales was convicted last week and will face sentencing in April 2011. Each of the violations carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Morales was one of five people indicted last year on charges of conspiring to illegally purchase weapons that investigators say were smuggled to Guatemalan drug cartels. Prosecutors say Morales falsely represented that he was the actual buyer when purchasing the guns from a Tennessee dealer, but he was actually giving the guns to a co-defendant who was taking the guns to Guatemala.