Nampa Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing a Firearm
BOISE – Jesus Manuel Zuniga, 28, of Nampa, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to an information charging him with one count of unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.
According to the plea agreement, on October 30, 2012, a Nampa Police officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle pursuant to a warrant for Zuniga’s arrest for violating his federal supervised release. After the vehicle stopped, Zuniga, who was a passenger in the vehicle, attempted to elude two Deputy U.S. Marshals. He was apprehended and arrested in possession of a firearm, later identified as a Phoenix Arms .22 semi-automatic pistol. Because Zuniga had previously been convicted in 2010 of unlawful possession of a firearm, a federal offense punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, he is prohibited from possessing firearms.
The charge of unlawful possession of a firearm is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and at least three years of supervised release.
Sentencing is set for April 10, 2013, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Nampa Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
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.
