Attorney Charged With Selling Guns, Silencers And Meth

FOUNTAIN VALLEY, CA — An Orange County lawyer was arrested Monday on federal grand jury indictment for acting as a "broker" between black market dealers and customers for both drugs and guns, the US Attorney's office claims.

Officials are still seeking another woman named in the indictment.

Melinda Romines, 41, a Fountain Valley attorney who resides in Anaheim, was taken into federal custody and was expected to make her initial court appearance Monday afternoon in the United States District Court in Los Angeles.

Charges against Romines include one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without a license, one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, and two counts of distributing methamphetamine. Romines does not have a federal firearms license, which is only issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The indictment, returned last week, says that Romines "found guns available for purchase from black market firearms dealers." She then acted as a broker between the black market dealers and paying customers, doing business out of parking garages in Los Angeles, the indictment says.

In May 2018, Romines was suspected of selling two firearms in a Los Angeles parking lot. Both a .40-caliber pistol and an AR-type .45-caliber rifle, each missing serial numbers, were sold in that exchange.

Officials suspect also suspect Romines of selling a silencer and a high-capacity magazine with approximately 20 rounds of ammunition at that time, officials say. That transaction that netted her $2,600.

In October 2018, in another Los Angeles parking lot, she sold a .45-caliber pistol and ammunition to a buyer for $900, the indictment alleges.

Romines also allegedly sold nearly a quarter-pound of methamphetamine in two transactions in October and November 2018.

A second defendant named in the indictment—Seaira Benson, a.k.a. "Relli," 27, of Compton and Los Angeles—is been charged along with Romines with one count of distributing approximately 111 grams of methamphetamine. Authorities are currently seeking Benson.

An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. "Every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," the Department of Justice reminds.

The ATF investigated this case and conducted their work with the support of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF).

Assistant United States Attorneys Brittney M. Harris of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering, and Racketeering Section and Rachel N. Agress of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.