SAN ANTONIO – A former U.S. soldier is headed to prison in connection to a firearm straw purchasing plot with ties to the Rio Grande Valley.

Prosecutors said the firearms were destined for members of the Gulf Cartel in Mexico.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Western District of Texas, 37-year-old Army Sgt. Julian Prezas was sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison by a federal judge in San Antonio for his role in a plan involving firearms.

Prezas was also ordered to pay $600 special assessment and be placed on supervised release for a period of three years after completing his prison term.

The press release goes on to state that in Dec. 2016, Prezas pleaded guilty to several charges.

By pleading guilty, Prezas admitted to conspiring with other former U.S. soldiers in 2015 to illegally purchase over 40 assault rifles.

The release also states that at times Prezas admittedly delivered firearms to people while in uniform and in a government vehicle.

One of those people was delivering them to members of the Gulf Cartel in Mexico.

Earlier this year, a judge sentenced Prezas’ three co-defendants to two years’ probation after they pleaded guilty to making a false statement during the acquisition of a firearm.