Salvadoran national in Cleveland indicted on firearms and identity theft charges

A Salvadoran national was indicted on firearms and identity theft charges, law enforcement officials said.

Carlos Amaya-Melendez, 38, is a citizen of El Salvador but was living in Cleveland. He used the identity of a U.S. citizen from Puerto Rico to obtain an Ohio driver’s license in 2009. It was renewed in 2015, according to court documents.

He also possessed a .38-caliber revolver and ammunition while not a citizen of the U.S., according to the indictment.

This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliott Morrison and Robert Kern.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is a charge and not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.