Laura Elena Rosales-Sanchez, 30, a Mexican national residing in Rexburg, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Pocatello to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.

Sanchez was arrested in November 2010 after police officers responded to neighbors' complaints that they heard gunshots from Rosales-Sanchez's Rexburg apartment. A .45 caliber semi-automatic gun was found in her apartment and Rosales-Sanchez later admitted that she was frustrated and had fired two rounds from the gun outside her front door the night of her arrest. Rosales-Sanchez also admitted to being in the United States illegally. According to immigration records, Rosales-Sanchez had been previously deported to Mexico in 2008.

The charge of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person is punishable by up to ten years imprisonment, a maximum fine of $250,000, and up to three years of supervised release.

Sentencing for Rosales-Sanchez is set for August 29, 2011, in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with assistance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).