Source: US FBI
Defendant is an alleged gang associate who sold four pistols – two with defaced serial numbers – and more than one hundred rounds of ammunition to gang members over the course of a month
BOSTON – A Salvadoran national unlawfully residing in Chelsea was charged with allegedly making multiple illegal firearms sales.
Melbi Ovidio Ortez, 40, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of engaging in the business of dealing in firearms without a license. Ortez was arrested this morning. Following an initial appearance this afternoon, he was ordered detained pending probable cause and detention hearings scheduled for July 18, 2025.
According to charging documents, Ortez was identified as an 18th Street Gang associate who supplied firearms and controlled substances to gang members. On four different occasions between April 3, 2025 and May 2, 2025, Ortez allegedly sold firearms and ammunition behind his Chelsea residence. It is alleged that Ortez sold a Glock 9mm caliber pistol; a Sturm and Ruger .22 caliber revolver; a Glock .40 caliber pistol; a Colt .380 caliber pistol; magazines; and over one hundred rounds of ammunition. It is further alleged that the serial numbers on both the Glock 9mm pistol and the Colt .380 pistol had been defaced, and that the Glock 9mm pistol had been purchased only 20 days earlier from a licensed firearms dealer in New Hampshire. Ortez also allegedly sold suspected cocaine on two times during that same period.
The charge of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI, Boston Division; and Scott Riordan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Boston, Chelsea, Everett, Falmouth, Lynn, Medford, Nantucket and Revere Police Departments; Massachusetts State Police; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations; U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Fraud Detection and National Security Unit; Massachusetts Department of Correction; and the Suffolk County and Middlesex County District Attorney’s Offices. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.
This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.