Melinda Romines Orange County lawyer indicted for conspiring to sell firearms without a license and distributing methamphetamine.
A California lawyer has been arrested for allegedly selling a number of unlicensed guns and methamphetamine, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) authorities said Monday.
Melinda Romines, 41, of Anaheim, Orange County, acted as a middle man for black-market arms dealers, buying the weapons then re-selling them to customers, federal agents said in a statement per a federal indictment filed February 4.
In one of the deals, Romines allegedly sold a .40-caliber pistol, an AR-style rifle and a silencer to a buyer in a Los Angeles parking lot in 2018, feds said. Both of the guns had their serial numbers scratched off, according to the statement.
In another parking lot a few months later, Romines allegedly sold another illegal .45-caliber pistol in a deal that made her $900 according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.
A month later, she and an accomplice sold close to a quarter-pound of methamphetamine in two drug deals, the ATF said.
‘Our goal is to provide a sense of relief that you do not face these challenges alone, but with us as your warriors.’
Upon her arrest, Romines was indicted on 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, authorities said.
Romines has an active attorney’s license as of Monday, state records show. Her website says she owns a Fountain Valley-based boutique law firm that handles criminal defense, business and entertainment, and child custody cases, among others.
Reads a description from the law office: ‘Melro Law Group is a boutique law firm with a team dedicated to your case. Very often we find our clients in one of the most trying times of their lives. Our goal is to provide a sense of relief that you do not face these challenges alone, but with us as your warriors.’
Romines could not immediately be reached for comment early Tuesday.
