Undocumented Alien with Guns Heads to Federal Prison

LAREDO, Texas – A Mexican national living illegally in Laredo has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of having a firearm in violation of federal law, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jose Angel Villarreal-Sanchez, 43, pleaded guilty Aug. 11, 2015.

Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo, who accepted the guilty plea, ordered Villarreal-Sanchez to serve a 24-month sentence. At the hearing, evidence was presented that the defendant had 87.4 grams of cocaine on his property when arrested and possessed the firearm in connection with that drug offense. As an illegal alien, Villarreal-Sanchez is expected to face deportation proceedings following his release from prison.

Following a tip, law enforcement went to Villarreal-Sanchez’s home in Laredo on May 14, 2015, where he had been living illegally for some time. It was there that agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) discovered he possessed a pistol and a firearm in his bedroom. A criminal complaint was filed the following day which further detailed that agents had also found three baggies of cocaine hidden in some chicken feed in Villarreal-Sanchez’s back yard.

Villarreal-Sanchez has been in custody since his arrest on May 14, 2015, where he will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by HSI with the assistance of the Laredo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose Homero Ramirez is prosecuting the case.