TWIN FALLS MAN SENTENCED FOR GUN CRIME

Oscar Verdugo Ortiz, 40, of Twin Falls, Idaho, was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of a firearm, the United States Attorney’s Office announced.

Ortiz pled guilty to the charge on April 20, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge, who also ordered Ortiz to pay a fine of $6,000.00 and to serve three years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.

During his plea, Ortiz admitted possessing a stolen “Tech-9" semi-automatic pistol with a loaded 30 round clip on December 9, 2008. Ortiz had been sentenced to a term of probation on the charge of possession of a controlled substance in Twin Falls County District Court one day prior to his commission of this offense. Where Ortiz had been previously convicted of seven prior felony crimes, he was thereafter prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law.

Ortiz’s case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Twin Falls City Police Department. His prosecution was part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.