United States of America v. Loyd Waiter Hall

Amarillo, Texas, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with conspiracy to provide firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel.

Digested by Kent Morlan

Loyd Walter Hall, 27, of Amarillo, is charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for importation into the United States, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and several counts of providing false material statements to a firearms dealer, and conspiracy to straw purchase and traffic firearms. Jesus Quezada Meza, 30, a Mexican national living in Dumas, Texas, and Omar Velasquez, 44, of Utah, are each charged with conspiracy to straw purchase firearms and conspiracy to traffic firearms. Catlynn Ann Townsend, 29, of Amarillo, is charged with making a false statement in required information kept by a licensed firearms dealer.

From 2024 to 2026, Hall and several of his co-conspirators maintained a relationship with a member of the Sinaloa Cartel in Chihuahua, Mexico. Through this relationship, Hall provided firearms, technical know-how, and guidance on evading U.S. law enforcement to the Sinaloa Cartel despite his awareness of the Cartel’s status as a foreign terrorist organization. Hall worked with named and unnamed co-conspirators to accomplish this objective.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. The outstanding defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.