Previously convicted felon sentenced to 37 months in prison for firearms charge

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Lionel Vallo was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Vallo, 39, of Albuquerque, pleaded guilty on Nov. 14, 2022 to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and failure to update his sex offender registration.

According to the plea agreement and other court records, Vallo, who previously was convicted of aggravated sexual abuse in Indian Country in 2003, failed to update his sex offender registration after moving to a new address in Albuquerque. Vallo also failed to update his quarterly registration on July 1, 2020.

On July 26, 2022, in Albuquerque, members of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Southwest Investigative Fugitive Team (SWIFT) Task Force initiated a traffic stop on Vallo, who was subject to an arrest warrant for absconding from supervised release. Vallo did not stop immediately, and once stopped, initially was non-compliant with commands to exit the vehicle. After Vallo eventually exited the vehicle and was taken into custody, SWIFT members located loaded firearms in the vehicle.

Upon his release from prison, Vallo will be subject to 10 years of supervised release.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicholas Marshall and Matthew McGinley are prosecuting the case.

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