Eugene Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition

EUGENE, Ore. – On Thursday, June 29, 2017, Jose Manuel Vargas, 38, of Eugene, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Ann Aiken to 10 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

According to court documents, on January 28, 2014, acting on information that persons were selling heroin and methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school, Lane County Interagency Narcotics Team detectives entered a residence and arrested Vargas. Vargas, twice convicted in Oregon for the felony sale of illegal drugs, had a revolver, ammunition and body armor. Vargas was on probation for possessing heroin and providing a false name to police.

On July 20, 2017, Vargas appeared before Judge Aiken, pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. In 2002, an Oregon judge sentenced Vargas to three years in prison for drug trafficking. Vargas received probationary sentences in 2007 for possessing cocaine and in 2013 for possessing heroin. The Lane County District Attorney prosecuted a second person arrested inside the Eugene residence where Vargas was arrested for possession of heroin and methamphetamine.

The case was prosecuted by Frank R. Papagni, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Oregon and investigated by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), detectives from the Interagency Narcotics Enforcement Team (INET), and Springfield, Ore. Police Sergeant Keith Seanor.