Prior Felon from Deming Sentenced to Prison for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm

ALBUQUERQUE – Elias David Parra, 29, of Deming, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court in Las Cruces, N.M., to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal firearms laws.

Parra was arrested in Oct. 2015, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  According to the complaint, officers of the Las Cruces Police Department arrested Parra after finding him in possession of a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 14, 2015, during a traffic stop in Doña Ana County, N.M.  At the time, Parra was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of a drug trafficking felony in a Texas state court.  Parra was indicted on Jan. 20, 2016. 

On May 24, 2016, Parra pled guilty to the indictment, and admitted that he unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on Oct. 14, 2015.  Parra acknowledged that he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition as a result of his prior felony conviction for possession of a controlled substance.

This case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of the FBI, the Doña Ana County Sheriff’s Department and the Las Cruces Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office prosecuted the case.