El Salvador Citizen Sentenced For Firearm Possession

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Elian David Vasquez-Lopez, age 24, of El Salvador, was sentenced to 12 months in prison for one count of Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by an Illegal Alien.  Following his sentence, he will be released to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for removal from the United States.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Kiowa Police Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On August 28, 2023, Vasquez-Lopez pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition by an illegal alien.  According to investigators, on July 17, 2023, officers conducting a routine traffic stop on U.S. Highway 69 discovered Vasquez-Lopez was illegally in the United States and in possession of a 9mm pistol and six rounds of ammunition.

The Honorable John F. Heil, III, U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  Vasquez-Lopez will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration prior to his removal from the United States.

Assistant United States Attorney Richard J. Lorenz represented the United States.