Texas man caught trying to re-sell military-grade sniper rifles purchased in Colorado

A Texas man was sent to prison Friday for selling weapons without a dealers license. He had the help of four men in the Denver metro area who legally purchased the sniper rifles in Colorado and gave them to the Texan.

Filiberto Walle, 24, of Edinburgh, Texas, obtained .50 caliber BMG (Browning Machine Gun) rifles in Colorado, according to case documents. The guns, Barrett 82A1 and Desert Tech HTI models, are "anti-materiel" rifles, a sniper rifle built with the intent of disabling military equipment - vehicles, aircraft, or radar - rather than personnel. 

For three months (June to August 2023), Walle had a primary partner in Mohamed Savane, a 28-year-old Denver resident. Together, the two men bought the weapons from two federally licensed firearms dealers in Colorado, according to Walle's federal indictment. Some of the guns were already in the shops' inventories, other guns were ordered online for transfer to the dealers from elsewhere. 

Walle, according to the indictment, provided Savane with money for the purchases. 

Savane then sent three other men to the stores to fill out background checks, sign the paperwork, and physically walk out with the weapons. Those men and Savane then delivered the guns to Walle for resale in Texas. Walle is not a federally licensed firearm dealer. 

Purchased with the intent to resell it elsewhere known legally as a "straw purchase." The operation, identified in indictment as a conspiracy, ended when one of the gun stores refused to complete a sale. 

Walle was arrested in Texas in November 2024. He pleaded guilty in December 2025 to two federal counts related to dealing firearms without a license. Friday, he received a 9-month prison sentence for each count, though the terms will be served at the same time. The judge allowed Walle to walk out of the Denver federal courtroom. He must report to a federal prison within two weeks. 

Savane was sentenced in September 2025 to 12 months and one day on a similar firearms dealing charge. He is currently serving his time in FCI (Federal Corrections Institute) Florence in southern Colorado. 

The three other men in the operation have pleaded guilty to a lesser offense, False Statement while Purchasing Firearm: 

• Malcolm Xavier Johnson, 25, of Aurora, was sentenced in October 2025 to three years probation. 
• Adrian Cervantes, 30, of Aurora, was sentenced in September 2025 to four years probation. 
• Torien Pryor-Parson, 25, of Denver, is scheduled for sentencing on February 18.

Walle, who obtained at least seven of the rifles, was ordered to surrender at least five of them in his plea agreement. He will likely serve his time in a Texas prison. 

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) handled the criminal investigation into the purchases and the resale operation.   

The indictment did not state how many, if any, of the BMG rifles were actually sold.  

A spokesperson from the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Colorado, which prosecuted the case, told CBS Colorado the Colorado gun dealers did nothing wrong, sold the weapons legally, and had had no idea what the purchaser was doing with the guns after they were paid for and left the store.