A federal grand jury has returned a 13-count superseding indictment against five men accused of conspiring to funnel firearms, ammunition and technical know-how to the Sinaloa Cartel, a Mexican criminal organization the U.S. government designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization in February 2025.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould announced the superseding indictment, returned Sept. 24, which adds a fifth defendant to a case first charged in June.
Loyd Walter Hall, 27, of Amarillo — also known as “Jamie Hall” and “James William” — is accused of acting as the central figure in the scheme. He faces charges including conspiracy 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, conspiracy to straw purchase and traffic firearms, and multiple counts of making false statements to a licensed firearms dealer.
Prosecutors say that from 2024 to 2026, Hall and several co-conspirators maintained a relationship with a member of the Sinaloa Cartel in Chihuahua, Mexico, and that Hall supplied firearms and guidance on evading U.S. law enforcement despite knowing the cartel’s status as a designated terrorist organization.
Charged alongside Hall when the original 12-count indictment was returned June 25 were Jesus Quezada Meza, 30, a Mexican national living in Dumas, Texas, and Omar Velasquez, 44, of Utah, both charged with conspiracy to straw purchase and traffic firearms, and Catlynn Ann Townsend, 29, of Amarillo, charged with making a false statement in required firearms-dealer records.
The superseding indictment added a fifth defendant, Johnnie Wayne Corbett, 42, of Amarillo, who was arrested by federal agents Oct. 17.
The charges across the case include conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for importation into the United States, using and possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, conspiracy to traffic firearms, conspiracy to straw purchase firearms, and making false statements to firearms dealers.
As of this writing, Corbett, Hall, Quezada Meza and Velasquez are in federal custody. Townsend has been issued a summons rather than taken into custody.
The Sinaloa Cartel, based in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, is one of the largest and most powerful drug trafficking organizations in the world, with a record of drug trafficking, money laundering and homicide. It was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the United States on Feb. 20, 2025, alongside five other cartels, with Canada issuing a similar designation.
If convicted, Hall faces up to a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Quezada Meza and Velasquez each face up to 15 years in federal prison. Townsend and Corbett each face up to five years in federal prison.
