Two Foreign Nationals Arrested for Possessing Firearm in Mayfield, Kentucky

Paducah, KY – A federal criminal complaint and arrest warrant was issued this week charging two illegal aliens with possession of a firearm.    

U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge John Nokes of the ATF Louisville Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud of Homeland Security Investigations, Nashville, and Chief Nathan Kent of the Mayfield Police Department made the announcement.

According to the complaint, Rodrigo Waldemar Caal-Caal, age 22, a citizen of Guatemala, and Rodolfo Ruiz-Hernandez, age 26, a citizen of Mexico, were charged with possessing a firearm on April 6, 2025, in Mayfield, Kentucky knowing they were aliens illegally and unlawfully in the United States. Caal-Caal and Ruiz-Hernandez admitted to possessing a firearm by removing it from the scene of a death investigation in Mayfield on April 6, 2025. The Mayfield Police Department continues to investigate the death. Both defendants are separately charged in state court with additional offenses.

This case is being investigated by the ATF Paducah Satellite Office, HSI Paducah Office, and the Mayfield Police Department.

Both defendants remain state custody and will make initial appearances before a U.S. Magistrate Judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at a later date. If convicted on the charges in the complaint, each defendant faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

There is no parole in the federal system.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth A. Hancock, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, is prosecuting the cases.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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