Stephen R. Wigginton, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced
today that Jose Zuniga-Amador, 30, has been sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment for the
offenses of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by an Illegal Alien and Illegal Re-Entry into the United
States After Deportation.

Zuniga-Amador was sentenced in United States District Court in East St. Louis on May 18,
2012. He had previously pled guilty to both federal charges on February 9, 2012. Zuniga-Amador
has been in federal custody continuously since his arrest on December 9, 2011.
According to evidence presented at Zuniga-Amador’s change-of-plea hearing, a security
guard arrested Zuniga-Amador around midnight at a convenience store in the 8300 block of State
Street in East St. Louis on December 9, 2011. The guard had noticed what appeared to be a handgun
underneath Zuniga-Amador’s shirt in the small of his back. After Zuniga-Amador’s arrest, the
security guard recovered a fully-loaded .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun from Zuniga-Amador,
and some extra ammunition from his car.

Zuniga-Amador is a Mexican citizen who has been deported from the United States to
Mexico on four different occasions – most recently on July 21, 2011.

The investigation which resulted in Zuniga-Amador’s conviction and sentence was conducted
by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the East St. Louis Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert L. Garrison.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return to Top