Grand Jury Returns Indictments

MINNEAPOLIS—A federal grand jury in the District of Minnesota, sitting in Minneapolis, recently returned the following indictments. You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation, and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Any sentence is determined by a federal district judge.

Mexican citizen charged with illegal re-entry into U.S.

Jose Israel Gutierrez-Garcia, age 28, a citizen of Mexico, is charged with one count of illegally re-entering the United States after previously being deported subsequent to a conviction for a felony.

If convicted, Gutierrez-Garcia faces a potential maximum penalty of ten years in prison. This case is the result of an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathan P. Petterson.

St. Paul felon charged with possessing shotgun, ammunition

Michael John Walker, age 45, of St. Paul, was charged with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. Because he is a felon and three or more of his prior convictions were for violent crimes, Walker is subject to the federal armed career criminal statute, which mandates a minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison upon conviction on either or both of the charges.

This case is the result of an investigation by the Minneapolis Police Department, and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Amber M. Brennan.