A federal grand jury has returned a superseding indictment against five people accused of running a scheme to supply firearms, drugs and operational guidance to the Sinaloa Cartel, a group the United States designated a foreign terrorist organization in February 2025.
The case began in June with a 12-count indictment against Loyd Walter Hall, 27, of Amarillo, Texas, and three co-defendants. On September 24, prosecutors obtained a 13-count superseding indictment that added a fifth defendant, Johnnie Wayne Corbett, 42, of Amarillo, who was arrested by federal agents on October 17.
U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould announced the superseding indictment, which charges the group with conspiring to provide firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel, trafficking controlled substances, and running a series of straw-purchase and firearms-trafficking schemes.
Who Is Charged
Hall, who also went by the aliases “Jamie Hall” and “James William,” faces the most serious charges: 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, multiple counts of making false 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, faces a charge of making a false statement in records required to be kept by a licensed firearms dealer. Corbett’s specific charges were added in the superseding indictment alongside the original defendants.
According to prosecutors, from 2024 to 2026 Hall and several co-conspirators maintained a relationship with a member of the Sinaloa Cartel based in Chihuahua, Mexico. Through that relationship, Hall allegedly supplied firearms, technical expertise, and guidance on evading U.S. law enforcement to the cartel, despite knowing its designation as a foreign terrorist organization.
Custody Status and Penalties
Corbett, Hall, Quezada Meza and Velasquez are currently in federal custody. Townsend has been issued a summons rather than taken into custody.
If convicted, Hall faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Quezada Meza and Velasquez each face up to 15 years. Townsend and Corbett each face up to five years in federal prison.
The Sinaloa Cartel, based in Culiacán, Sinaloa, Mexico, is one of the largest organized crime syndicates operating out of Mexico, with a record of drug trafficking, money laundering and homicide. It was among six cartels designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the United States on February 20, 2025; Canada issued a similar designation around the same time.
