MEXICAN MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL FIREARM POSSESSION

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Teodoro Rodriguez-Alvarez , 34, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “This criminal alien has brazenly and repeatedly violated our laws while illegally present in our country. I deeply appreciate the work of our local law enforcement partners and Homeland Security Investigations to stop his flagrant criminal behavior. My office remains committed to fulfilling the promise made by President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to Take Back America from the criminal aliens who violate our federal laws by prosecuting those offenders to the fullest extent.”

On July 15, 2025, a Gulf Breeze Police Department officer responded to the Pensacola Bay Bridge in reference to a pickup truck stopped in the emergency lane.  The officer arrived at the scene and identified the sole vehicle occupant as Teodoro Rodriguez-Alvarez by his Mexican passport.  After speaking with the defendant, law enforcement arrested him for multiple driving offenses.  A vehicle inventory was conducted before the truck was towed.  During the inventory, a pistol was found in a bag near the driver’s seat.  The defendant is a citizen of Mexico and was illegally in the United States.

Mr. Rodriguez-Alvarez faces up to 15 years’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

The case involved an investigation by the Gulf Breeze Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey M. Tharp.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline ) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.