A welcome sign outside Fort Cavazos, Texas. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes)
AUSTIN, Texas — Five men were sentenced in federal court to prison time, probation and fines for their participation in the theft of nearly $3 million worth of military equipment from Fort Cavazos.
Four of the men were soldiers at the time and stole nearly 24,000 pieces of equipment on at least seven different occasions from 2017 to 2021, according to the Justice Department. They then sold the equipment to Benjamin Alvarado Jr., 32, who was caught posting the items for sale online.
Darius Alston, Justin Wallas, Gabriel Taylor and Kynyqus Bryant were soldiers assigned to Fort Cavazos in central Texas. Their service records were not immediately available.
Alvarado received the steepest punishment for his involvement. He was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in federal prison and ordered to pay nearly $2.4 million in restitution, according to the Justice Department.
He pleaded guilty on Oct. 31, 2023, to one count of theft of government property conspiracy, one count of interstate transportation of stolen property, two counts of money laundering and one count of smuggling goods from the United States.
Alston, Wallas and Taylor were also sentenced Wednesday. Alston and Wallas were each sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison, while Taylor was sentenced to five years of probation. They owe a combined $618,750 in restitution.
Bryant was sentenced Monday to five years of probation and a $2,000 fine.
In January 2017, Alvarado began purchasing thousands of military items from the four soldiers, including M-50 gas masks and the accompanying filters, night vision device image intensifier tubes, Litefighter tents, weapons parts and body armor.
Bryant and Alston, both sergeants in the 553rd Combat Service Support Battalion, stole items, while Taylor admitted to serving as a lookout, according to court records. Alston told investigators that Taylor and Wallas were present during many of the robberies. The two men’s ranks were not listed in court records.
Investigators found Alvarado selling the items online in August 2021. Earlier that year, investigators learned he had participated in the sale and transfer of a Joint Chemical Agent Detector M4A1 to a buyer in China through an intermediary in Delaware.
Law enforcement officials recovered more than 24,000 individual items stolen from the government valued at about $2.75 million, according to court documents. Another $100,000 worth of military property was recovered at a Killeen storage building.
Alvarado spent his earnings from the stolen property on a 2,250-square-foot home in Killeen and a 2013 McLaren MP4 sports car, both of which were forfeited to the government.
