Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Charge

POCATELLO - Juan Carlos Sepulveda-Castro, 31, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty today to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced.  Sepulveda-Castro was indicted by a federal grand Jury in Pocatello on February 23, 2016.

According to the plea agreement, Idaho Falls police arrested Sepulveda-Castro after a report that he had threatened several others with a gun during a dispute.  Officers found a loaded, Sig Sauer Model 522, .22 caliber, assault-style rifle that Sepulveda-Castro admitted to possessing.  The defendant is prohibited from possessing firearms because he is an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States.

The charge of unlawful possession of a firearm is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000.00, and up to three years of supervised release.  The government is seeking forfeiture of the firearm the defendant illegally possessed.

Sentencing is set for June 22, 2016, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Pocatello.

The case was investigated by Idaho Falls Police, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

This case was prosecuted by the new Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Eastern Idaho Partnership and the State of Idaho.  The Eastern Idaho Special Assistant U.S. Attorney was hired to bolster ongoing efforts to prosecute regional drug trafficking, gun and gang violence, internet based crimes against children, and other serious crimes with a federal nexus.  The Eastern Idaho Partnership is a collaboration of elected officials and law enforcement from 11 counties and 18 cities across eastern Idaho, in partnership with the Idaho Department of Correction and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.