PREVIOUSLY CONVICTED FELON SENTENCED TO 24 YEARS IN PRISON FOR POSSESSING FIREARM

(CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas) – A previously convicted felon, Damian Valentin Monserrat, 48, has been sentenced to 24 years in federal prison without parole for possessing a stolen firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today. 

Monserrat was sentenced today by Senior United States District Judge John D. Rainey to 292 months imprisonment to be followed by a five-year-term of supervised release for his conviction of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Monserrat was also sentenced to 120 months imprisonment to be followed by a three-year-term of supervised release for the possessing a stolen firearm conviction. The court has ordered the sentences to be served concurrently.   

Monserrat was convicted by a federal jury in October 2010 of each of the two federal firearm felonies following a two-day trial. During trial, the jury heard that Monserrat’s fingerprints were discovered at the scene of a Corpus Christi residential burglary which occurred on March 23, 2010, from which a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol had been stolen along with other items.  Monserrat was later identified as the individual who pawned several other items taken during the burglary. Approximately 10 days after the burglary, officers responded to a report of men arguing in the parking garage of a downtown apartment complex and shots having been fired. Police officers discovered two vehicles in a garage had been hit by gunfire. Eight of the recovered casings were forensically determined to be consistent with the stolen Sig Sauer and officers were directed to a nearby beach by residents who identified two men believed to have been involved with the “shots fired” report. As officers approached, they saw Monserrat throwing an object into the bay. The stolen Sig Sauer was later recovered from the surf line in the same area. Monserrat has numerous felony convictions including prior convictions for burglary and murder. As a convicted felon, Monserrat is prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. 
           
Monserrat has been in federal custody since April 2010 following his indictment on the federal charges. He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Bureau of Prisons facility to be designated in the near future where he will serve out his sentence. 

The case was investigated by the Corpus Christi Police Department and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. Thorpe Jr. prosecuted the case. 

 

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