Granbury man sentenced for taking rifle while impersonating Navy SEAL

A Granbury man who obtained a rifle while impersonating a Navy SEAL in 2014 has been sentenced to 16 months in prison.

Carlos Felipe Luna-Gonzalez, 31, also received three years in prison for failing to appear for a court hearing and fleeing to Puerto Rico.

Luna-Gonzalez, who was eligible for probation because he had no previous felony conviction, was sentenced Monday in the 415th District Court on charges of theft from $1,500 to $20,000, failure to appear and bail jumping.

Parker County Sheriff Larry Fowler, a Navy veteran, said he was “disturbed” by the offense.

“This man stole a title which has been earned by many through bloodshed of their own,” Fowler said in a Tuesday news release.

Luna-Gonzalez, who claimed he was wounded in combat in Africa and earned a Purple Heart as a Navy SEAL, was arrested in November 2014 and accused of impersonating a military officer, authorities said.

He was in the Navy as an enlisted seaman apprentice, but his service record indicates he was never a commissioned officer or a SEAL, nor did he earn a Purple Heart or face active combat, Fowler told the Star-Telegram in a previous interview.

A tip to the Texas Rangers in 2014 said Luna-Gonzalez was representing himself as a ranking Navy SEAL officer on a social media outlet and posted photographs of himself wearing Navy dress uniform while dining at a coffee shop.

Other photos showed Luna-Gonzalez wearing the uniform with a lieutenant (junior grade) rank, and displaying a Navy SEAL Trident, Jump Wings and various other awards on his uniform, authorities said

Luna-Gonzalez told law officers in Parker County that he was temporarily stationed at Naval Air Station Fort Worth while he was waiting for a medical discharge for injuries he suffered while stationed in Africa during a SEAL operation, authorities said.

Investigators determined that he was given an early general discharge.

An undercover officer told Luna-Gonzalez that the owner of Lone Star Guns — a supporter of military veterans — wanted to thank him personally and present him with a rifle in appreciation, Fowler has said.

On Nov. 8, 2014, Luna-Gonzalez walked into the Weatherford gun shop dressed in a Navy uniform displaying officer insignia, the Navy SEAL Trident and a Purple Heart. He repeated his story, was given the $2,300 rifle and was taken into custody, Fowler has said.

The case was investigated by the Texas Rangers and investigators with the Weatherford-Parker County Special Crimes Unit.

Luna-Gonzalez posted $18,500 bail was released from the Parker County Jail in November 2014, shortly after his arrest, after posting $18,500 bail.

He later fled to Puerto Rico and did not appear for a court hearing. He was taken into custody and extradited back to Texas.

This story was originally published August 30, 2016 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Granbury man sentenced for taking rifle while impersonating Navy SEAL."