| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 5, 2008 WWW.USDOJ.GOV/USAO/CAN |
SAN FRANCISCO – United States Attorney Joseph P. Russoniello announced that Jose Leopoldo Villegas-Villanueva, a/k/a Juan Lopez Ontiveros was sentenced Wednesday to 97 months in prison for possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking crime and for having illegally reentered the United States after he was deported to Mexico.
Villegas-Villanueva, 32, of Eureka, Calif., pleaded guilty on September 10 to one count of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c), Possession of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime, and one count of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326, Illegal reentry Following Deportation. According to the plea agreement, Villegas-Villanueva admitted that on March 17, he possessed a firearm in order to further his distribution of methamphetamine and marijuana.
On March 17, Eureka Police Officers responded to Villegas-Villanueva’s home after a 9-1-1 call was placed from the residence. After arriving at the scene, the police officers conducted an emergency search of the residence to confirm or dispel the need for emergency services. While conducting the search, the officers entered a bedroom and found ammunition and six firearms. The officers also found 28 grams of methamphetamine in the bedroom and approximately 14 kilograms (approximately 31 pounds) of marijuana in a nearby closet.
Villegas-Villanueva is a citizen of Mexico. He has never been a United States citizen. He was deported on July 12, 1999 following a 1997 conviction in Eureka for assault with a firearm on a person, a felony.
Villegas-Villanueva was indicted by a federal grand jury on April 8. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Charles R. Breyer. Judge Breyer also sentenced the defendant to a three year period of supervised release. Villegas-Villanueva has been in custody since his arrest and will begin serving his sentence immediately.
Derek Owens is the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Hui Chen and Marina Ponomarchuk. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Further Information:
Case #: CR 08-0230 CRB
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