Jury Convicts Illegal Alien For Shooting Gun In Fairview Heights Park

A federal jury in East Saint Louis returned a guilty verdict this morning in a case involving an 
illegal alien. Gustavo Alvarez-Gomez, 23, a native of El Salvador, was convicted of unlawfully 
possessing a firearm after a three-day trial.

Evidence presented during the trial established that on Feb. 25, 2019, Alvarez-Gomez and a 
companion, Jordy Sanchez-Andrade, drove from St. Louis, Missouri, to Pleasant Ridge Park in 
Fairview Heights, Illinois, so they could smoke marijuana and shoot a handgun. Both men entered the 
wooded hiking trails and fired off shots from a 9mm pistol. A concerned citizen called the police, 
and the Fairview Heights Police Department quickly responded.

Both men were found and arrested in the wooded area of the park. The pistol was recovered nearby. 
Subsequent investigation by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE) determined that both men had entered the United States illegally. Federal law 
prohibits unlawful aliens from knowingly possessing a gun.

U.S. Attorney Steve Weinhoeft said, “Our illegal immigration enforcement efforts prioritize 
identifying and aggressively prosecuting those who enter the United States illegally and commit 
other crimes.” Weinhoeft continued, “It is beyond reckless to handle firearms while using drugs, 
but this crime is so much more offensive because these two individuals chose to do so at three 
o’clock in the afternoon, in a public park that was occupied by a mother and her two young 
children, ages 1 and 4.”

An indictment was returned against the pair in April 2019. Sanchez-Andrade, 22, pleaded  guilty.
He is currently in ICE custody awaiting removal proceedings back to his native Honduras.

Alvarez-Gomez remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending his May 8 
sentencing before Chief United States District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel. He could receive up to 
ten years imprisonment and a fine of up to $250,000. After his sentence has been served, 
Alvarez-Gomez will be referred to immigration authorities for removal proceedings.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Fairview Heights Police Department, Department 
of Homeland Security Investigations, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobac o, Firearms and Explosives. The case was tried by Assistant United States Attorney
Alexandria Burns.