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Press Release

Previously Deported Alien Sentenced to 108 Months for Possession of Military-Style Semiautomatic Rifle

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Carolina

Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon stated today that Luis Cenobio Barrera, age 24, of Tamaulipas, Mexico, was sentenced to 108 months in prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g). Senior United States District Judge Henry M. Herlong, of Greenville, sentenced Barrera and imposed a three-year term of supervised release. 

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on January 26, 2018, the Greenville Police Department (GPD) received multiple calls for assistance regarding a firearm-related disturbance that originated at a gas station located on S. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville, S.C.  The suspect in the incident was a Hispanic male, subsequently identified as Barrera, who possessed a handgun during the disturbance. The investigation identified Barrera as driving a dark Mazda sedan that was later located in a parking lot on Webster Road in Greenville. 

Officers approached the black Mazda 6, which was backed into a handicap parking spot.  The Mazda had dark window tint that precluded officers from seeing into the vehicle.  As officers approached, Barrera jumped from the vehicle, ignored commands to stop, and fled the area.  Officers then established a perimeter around the area and attempted to track and locate Barrera using a K-9, without success.

In the Mazda 6 from which Barrera fled, GPD officers observed an olive drab green and black in color, military style rifle wedged between the front passenger seat and center console of the vehicle. 

Based on the information provided by GPD, the Department of Homeland Security identified Barrera as a citizen of Mexico who had been previously removed from the United States on multiple occasions.  The prior crimes that led to his first removal were conspiracy robbery with a dangerous weapon, in violation of North Carolina General Statute § 14-87 and discharge of a weapon into an occupied property, in violation of North Carolina General Statute § 14-34.1(a).  Following service of a state prison sentence, Barrera was removed to Mexico on May 28, 2013.

At some point, he returned to the United States without permission and on January 17, 2016, Barrera was arrested in Charlotte by local authorities for carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and hit and run.  On October 21, 2016, Barrera was convicted of illegal reentry in the United States, served a sentence, and on March 2, 2017, Barrera was removed from the United States to Mexico afoot at Brownsville, Texas.

At some point, Barrera returned to the United States without permission and obtained a FEG Model SA 2000 7.62 mm rifle that he had in his possession when Greenville police officers encountered him in the Mazda.  He was ultimately arrested on the weapons charges after fleeing to Charlotte, North Carolina, and was returned to Greenville where his case was adjudicated by Judge Herlong. 

Assistant United States Attorney Bill Watkins of the Greenville office handled the case, which was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security/Office of Investigations, the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the United States Marshals Service, and the Greenville Police Department and prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Operation “Real Time,” which seeks to fast track armed recidivists for federal prosecution. Operation “Real Time” is a part of the Project CeaseFire initiative, which aggressively prosecutes firearm cases. Project CeaseFire is South Carolina’s implementation of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Attorney General Jeff Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority.  In October 2017, as part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.

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Contact

Lance Crick (864) 282-2105

Updated September 6, 2018

Topic
Project Safe Neighborhoods