Roswell Man Sentenced to 51 Months in Federal Prison for Unlawful Possession Of a Firearm

ALBUQUERQUE – Xavier Barela, 36, of Roswell, N.M., was sentenced today in Las Cruces Federal Court to 51 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Barela was arrested in May 2012, based on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm and subsequently was indicted on that same charge.  The indictment charged Barela with unlawfully possessing a firearm in Chaves County, N.M., on April 21, 2012.  At the time, Barela was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of several felony offenses, including receiving and transferring a stolen motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance, unlawful taking of a motor vehicle and the fraudulent use of a credit card, in the 5th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.

Barela entered a conditional guilty plea to the indictment in Nov. 6, 2012, reserving the right to appellate review of the court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence. 

            This case was investigated by the Roswell office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Roswell Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark A. Saltman of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office.