Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing a Gun

An illegal alien who possessed a firearm was sentenced today, to over one year in federal prison.

Jose Ramirez-Galvan, age 37, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an April 23, 2018, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.

In a plea agreement, Ramirez-Galvan admitted he illegally possessed a firearm on February 6, 2018.  Ramirez-Galvan was deported from the United States to Mexico in May 2012.  In October 2015, Ramirez-Galvan illegally returned to the United States without permission.  On February 6, 2018, Ramirez-Galvan was arrested in Waterloo, Iowa.  During a search of Ramirez-Galvan’s residence, agents found a .22 caliber revolver under Ramirez-Galvan’s mattress.  It is a violation of federal law for aliens unlawfully in the United States to possess firearms.

Ramirez-Galvan was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Linda R. Reade.  Ramirez-Galvan was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Ramirez-Galvan is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.   Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.   In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 18-CR-2007-LRR.

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