Albuquerque man makes first appearance in federal court on gun charges

            Albuquerque, N.M. – Eduardo “Lalo” Aguilar, 31, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, made an initial appearance on gun charges in federal court on August 20 before a detention hearing yesterday, at which the Court concluded that the he must be detained pending trial. Aguilar has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

            Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crime Task Force (VCTF), working in conjunction with investigators from the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, arrested Aguilar on August 13. According to a criminal complaint, while executing a warrant to search Aguilar’s apartment, investigators from the VCTF and the District Attorney’s Office located a loaded firearm, which, as felon, Aguilar cannot legally possess.

           A criminal complaint is only an accusation.  Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

            The case is being investigated by the FBI VCTF and the District Attorney’s Office, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Letitia Simms as part of Operation Legend, a Department of Justice initiative to assist cities with persistently high crime rates.  Operation Legend is a sustained and coordinated law enforcement initiative in which the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with state and local law enforcement to prosecute gun and dangerous crimes arising in the City of Albuquerque.