Salvadoran national pleads guilty to illegal possession of a firearm

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Salvadoran national pled guilty today to unlawful possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on July 13, 2024, law enforcement responded to a report of a man brandishing a handgun at the Harmony Trailer Park. There, officers located Adalberto Rivas Machado, 20, who matched the description of the subject.

When a uniformed officer exited his marked vehicle, Rivas Machado fled on foot but was detained after a short chase. During a subsequent pat-down, officers located the handgun in Rivas Machado’s sweatpants above his left ankle. The firearm was loaded with 9mm hollow point ammunition.

Rivas Machado was prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal law. Rivas Machado had illegally entered the United States and did not have any legal status in the country. An investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) revealed that he entered the United States without authorization as a juvenile in 2018 and an immigration judge ordered in 2019 that he be removed to El Salvador. Additionally, Rivas Machado could not possess a firearm because he was addicted to and an unlawful user of drugs. Rivas Machado admitted that he was addicted to fentanyl at the time he possessed the firearm. FCPD officers recovered fentanyl from him when he was arrested.

Rivas Machado is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22 and faces up to 15 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Kai Wah Chan, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police made the announcement after U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc J. Birnbaum is prosecuting the case.

This case is 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 gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-221.