Breckenridge stolen gun charges moved to federal court

A criminal case investigated by the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office will go before a federal  judge following the indictment of Michael Perales.

Perales, 59, will appear in court following an incident in early October that began with a report of stolen firearms in Stephens County.

Perales received federal charges, according to a press release by the SCSO, related to being a felon in possession of stolen firearms. In early October, several firearms were stolen from a house in the Crystal Falls area of Stephens County. Within days, the sheriff’s office had developed leads that Perales was in possession of these firearms and trying to sell them to other individuals. At the time, Perales was on Federal Probation for Bank Robbery and had recently moved to Breckenridge with his girlfriend, who has ties to our community. The S.O. obtained arrest warrants for Perales for being a felon in unlawful possession of firearms. We arrested him on these warrants on Oct. 10. We then contacted Perales’ federal probation officer and the ATF, to see if they would be interested in taking the case, given Perales’ lengthy criminal history and prior convictions on the federal level. 

Perales was federally indicted in early November, and then on the 22nd of this month, Perales was arrested by the ATF in the DFW area.  

His federal probation was also revoked as a result of the S.O.’s investigation and cooperation with federal authorities. He will likely remain in federal custody until a disposition is reached on his new charges. 

Prior to his federal arrest, he and his girlfriend moved away from Breckenridge to avoid further law enforcement contact, so we are pleased to announce that they are no longer residents of our county. Other aspects of this investigation are on-going.