SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — A California man was sentenced to more than five years in prison for his involvement in trafficking firearms between Utah and California, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
Leslie Eugene Gittoes, 53, of Ontario, California, was sentenced after pleading guilty to “conspiracy to travel interstate with intent to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license” in Feb. 2024, the attorney’s office said.
Gittoes — also known as “Big Craze” — was the lead defendant in the firearms trafficking case, and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge David Sam to 67 months in prison, as well as three years of supervised release and the forfeiture of multiple firearms.
The attorney’s office said that, between Sept. 2020 and Aug. 2021, Gittoes and his coconspirators planned to travel from Utah to California to deal firearms without a license.
According to the attorney’s office, the case was initiated following a 2021 shooting between rival California gangs — and the investigation revealed the firearms were “transferred from purchasers in Utah to restricted persons, including gang members.”
One of the firearms that was recovered in California was used in a gang-related shooting that led to someone’s death, according to the attorney’s office.
“Gittoes admitted he provided monetary compensation to Israel Luis Gonzalez, 60, of Roy, Utah, Emmette James Kibodeaux, 48, of Clearfield, Utah, and Taiesha Ann Kibodeaux, 40, of Clearfield, Utah, in exchange for firearms,” the attorney’s office said. “Gittoes further admitted that the conspiracy involved 25 to 99 firearms.”
Two of Gittoes’ coconspirators — Emmette James Kibodeaux and Taiesha Ann Kibodeaux — were sentenced in March 2024. Gonzalez is awaiting sentencing and is scheduled to be sentenced in September.
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