UNITED STATES ATTORNEY JOYCE WHITE VANCE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			CONTACT: PEGGY SANFORD
	DATE			PHONE: (205) 244-2020
	www.usdoj.gov/usao/aln			FAX: (205) 244-2171

ILLEGAL ALIEN ARRESTED IN GANG ROUNDUP INDICTED FOR ILLEGAL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM

            BIRMINGHAM - A federal grand jury today indicted MISAEL GODAY-TORRES as an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Michael A. Holt announced.
           
            Godoy-Torres, 19, of Mexico, was charged in a one-count indictment filed in U. S. District Court in Birmingham.

            The ICE Office of Investigations in Birmingham recently spearheaded an operation in the Northern District of Alabama to target the public safety threat posed by transnational street gangs.  Local police agencies in the northern part of the state worked jointly with ICE as a part of Operation Community Shield, an ongoing initiative by ICE’s National Gang Unit to thwart criminal gang activity.  During the operation in northern Alabama, which resulted in the detention of more than 20 gang-affiliated individuals, Godoy-Torres was apprehended in Hoover while in possession of a 30-30 caliber rifle.  

            If convicted for illegal possession of a firearm, Godoy-Torres could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
                       
            Assistant United States Attorney Miles M. Hart is prosecuting the case.

            Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
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