POCATELLO MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGALLY POSSESSING FIREARM
Jose Carlos Acosta, Jr., 30, of Pocatello, Idaho, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced. Acosta appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.
According to the plea agreement, on December 14, 2009, Acosta brandished and fired a 40 caliber semi-automatic pistol at a residence located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation. Because Acosta had previously been convicted of attempted theft, a felony, in March 2006 in Weber County, Utah, he is prohibited from possessing firearms.
The charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $25,000, and up to three years of supervised release.
Sentencing for Acosta is set for August 2, 2011, in Pocatello.
The case was investigated by the Fort Hall Police Department, the Bingham County Sheriff's Department, and the Blackfoot City Police Department. The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent and deter gun violence.
