Mexican National Indicted For Being An Alien Unlawfully In The United States In Possession Of A Firearm

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment today against Ismael Huazo-Jardinez, 33, a Mexican citizen residing in Yuba City, CA, charging him with two counts of possessing a firearm while being an alien unlawfully in the United States, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced. 

According to court documents, Huazo-Jardinez is suspected of having been the driver in a fatal car accident that killed three people, the parents and one child of a family of four, when the vehicle crashed into their mobile home as they slept, on May 4, 2019, in Sutter County. Huazo-Jardinez was arrested at the scene of the accident. Authorities impounded the vehicle, a Chevrolet Avalanche registered to Huazo-Jardinez, and later recovered a handgun from the vehicle’s center console. A database query revealed that the handgun had been reported stolen in Boise, Idaho. 

According to court documents, a Beretta handgun was found during a search of Huazo-Jardinez’s residence. Huazo-Jardinez is alleged to be a citizen and national of Mexico who has twice been removed from the United States and has not been granted permission to return. As an alien unlawfully in the United States, Huazo-Jardinez is prohibited by federal statute from possessing a firearm.

This case is the product of an investigation by the California Highway Patrol, Sutter County Sheriff’s Department, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Assistant United States Attorneys James Conolly and Shea Kenny are prosecuting the case. The Sutter County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting Huazo-Jardinez in the state case related to the May 4, 2019 fatal car accident.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. PSN was reinvigorated in 2017 as part of the Department of Justice's renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. attorney's Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime.

If convicted, Huazo-Jardinez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.