Mexican Man Sentenced to Prison for Unlawful Possession of a Firearm After Illegally Returning to the United States

A Mexican man who illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced today to more than two years in federal prison.

Julio Parra-Moralez, age 41, a citizen of Mexico illegally present in the United States and residing in Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after an August 15, 2024, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry following a conviction for a felony offense and one count of possession of a firearm by an alien.

In a plea agreement, Parra-Moralez admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Parra-Moralez was deported in September 2010. Parra-Moralez had previously been convicted in September 2002 of forgery, a felony. On February 18, 2024, immigration officials learned Parra-Moralez had illegally returned to the United States and found Parra-Moralez at the Black Hawk County Jail following his arrest on state charges. On April 1, 2024, Parra-Moralez was convicted in state court of possession of methamphetamine, third offense, and sentenced to five years on probation.

Parra-Moralez also admitted that he unlawfully possessed a firearm in April 2023 while being illegally present in the United States. On April 10, 2023, Parra-Moralez's vehicle was stopped by a sheriff's deputy on I-380 in Black Hawk County, Iowa. During the traffic stop, the deputy found a Smith & Wesson 38 Special with an obliterated serial number on the rear passenger floorboard. The firearm was later analyzed, and Parra-Moralez's DNA was found on the firearm.

Parra-Moralez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Parra-Moralez was sentenced to 33 months' imprisonment. He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

Parra-Moralez is being held in the United States Marshal's custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Daniel C. Tvedt and investigated by the Black Hawk County Sheriff's Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 24-CR-2020.

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