WICHITA – A 29-year-old Dodge City woman has been indicted on a charge of lying to a grand jury during an investigation of the Nortenos gang, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.
Petra Garcia-Martinez is charged with one count of perjury.
She’s also charged with one count of aiding and abetting her husband, Hector L. Martinez-Ramirez, who is not a citizen of the United States, in the unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, one count of aiding and abetting him in the unlawful possession of ammunition by an illegal alien, and one count of misprision of a felony.
Her husband, Hector L. Martinez-Ramirez, is charged with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by an illegal alien, and one count of using false documents, including a counterfeit Social Security card, and one count of aggravated identity theft.
On the perjury count, the indictment alleges that on May 25, 2011, Petra Garcia-Martinez testified falsely before a grand jury when she was questioned about her brother, Peter Garcia, also known as Pedro Garcia.
The indictment alleges Petra Garcia-Martinez was aware Peter Garcia was a member of the Nortenos street gang. Peter Garcia was one of 23 defendants charged in a racketeering indictment announced May 11 in Dodge City.
If convicted on the perjury count, she faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.
