Albuquerque man convicted on federal firearms charge

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that a federal jury returned a guilty verdict on Sept 29 on Jonathan Tony Sanchez. The jury convicted Sanchez, 36, of Albuquerque, of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

A federal grand jury indicted Sanchez on Jan. 25. According to the indictment and other court records, law enforcement was seeking Sanchez after he absconded from parole. On March 10, officers with the New Mexico Corrections Department (NMCD) Security Threat Intelligence Unit (STIU) and deputies with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) located Sanchez at an apartment on Wellesley Drive NE in Albuquerque. They also found a .40 caliber pistol in the apartment. DNA on the pistol matched Sanchez’s DNA.

At the time of the arrest, Sanchez was on parole for possession of a controlled substance and had previous convictions for robbery, trafficking a controlled substance and receiving/transferring a stolen vehicle. As a convicted felon, Sanchez cannot possess firearms or ammunition.

Sanchez will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. He faces up to 10 years in prison.

The FBI Albuquerque Field Office and the NMCD STIU investigated this case with assistance from BCSO. Assistant United States Attorneys Ry Ellison and Randy M. Castellano are prosecuting the case.

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