Illegal Alien Found Guilty of Illegally Possessing Firearm

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jesus Humberto Bernal- Berreaza, 19, a Mexican National illegally residing in Lexington, was convicted on Friday, by a federal jury sitting in Lexington, of being an Illegal Alien in Possession of a Firearm.

The jury returned its verdict following a one-day trial.  The evidence established that Lexington Police arrested Bernal-Berreaza, on December 7, 2017, for carrying a loaded and concealed .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun.  Bernal-Berreaza was also found in possession of 40 live rounds of .45 caliber ammunition.  Bernal- Berreaza was illegally residing in Lexington. 

Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Shawn Byers, Assistant Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; Stuart Lowrey, Special Agent in Charge ATF; and Lawrence Weathers, Chief of the Lexington Police Department, jointly announced the jury’s verdict.

ICE, the ATF, and the Lexington Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Roger W. West represented the United States.

Bernal- Berreaza  is currently scheduled to appear for sentencing, before Senior Judge Joseph M. Hood, in Lexington, on June 18, 2018, at 10:30 a.m.  Bernal-Berreaza  faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.  However, the Court will impose his sentence after consideration of the United States Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statutes governing the imposition of sentences.