Santa Fe Man Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Federal Firearms Offense

ALBUQUERQUE – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Gilbert Michael Coriz was sentenced to 48 months in prison. Coriz pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on July 14, 2023.

A federal grand jury indicted Coriz on Dec. 8, 2021. According to publicly available court records, on January 1, 2021, at approximately 2:52 am, Santa Fe Police Department (SFPD) officers were dispatched to the scene of gunshots fired at Coriz’s residence. A neighbor captured the shooting incident on a surveillance recording and showed it to officers. The recording depicted a verbal altercation occurring at approximately 2:30 am among a group of people that resulted in at least two shooters firing gunshots at a vehicle as it fled from Coriz’s residence.

The SWAT team later arrived to extract the occupants from Coriz’s residence using an amplified audio system. Several hours later, three women and four children exited Coriz’s residence. SFPD officers later obtained a state search warrant for Coriz’s residence. The SWAT team cleared Coriz’s residence and located Coriz hiding inside the water heater closet of the garage. The SWAT team detained Coriz and removed him from the garage. At the time, the SWAT team observed a pistol, rifle, and sawed-off barrel shotgun in the garage.

Coriz was previously convicted of aggravated battery, felon in possession of a firearm, tampering with evidence, possession of a controlled substance and residential burglary. As a previously convicted felon, Coriz cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

Upon his release from prison, Coriz will be subject to three years of supervised release.

The Santa Fe Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Santa Fe Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Samuel A. Hurtado is prosecuting the case.

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