Mexican man from Billings sentenced for illegal firearm possession (DOJ)

BILLINGS - A Mexican man illegally living in Billings was sentenced today to 18 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Javier Vidal Rico, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that on December 25, 2024, at approximately midnight, deputies from the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office received a report that an unknown subject had brandished a firearm at a Christmas party on Lewis Avenue in Billings. The caller advised that the subject had been disarmed by another partygoer, but was threatening to return. The responding deputies interviewed John and Jane Doe, who said an unknown male had come to the Christmas party earlier that night and started an argument with John Doe. Jane Doe observed the subject withdraw a teal pistol from his waistband during the argument and point it at John Doe's stomach. Jane Doe said John wrestled the pistol away from the subject, who fled the scene. John Doe gave the gun, a teal SCCY 9mm pistol, to the deputies.

John Doe further advised the subject left in a black Cadillac Escalade and that he had thrown a rock through one of the vehicle's windows. The deputies found a black Escalade parked outside Rico's residence with a shattered driver's window and a "Rico Construction" decal on the back window. Deputies confirmed Rico lived at the address but were unable to contact him that night.

Deputies returned to the residence the next day to speak with Rico. He admitted he had been at the Christmas party the night before and left around midnight. He acknowledged the Escalade belonged to him and that someone had broken the window while he was driving it. He consented to a search of his residence, which revealed 23 live 9 mm rounds and 3 live .25 rounds on a shelf in Rico's closet. Deputies also seized a SCCY pistol magazine loaded with 9 mm ammunition and a nylon gun holster.

The deputies arrested Rico and during the booking process he said he was a citizen of Mexico. He admitted he paid a coyote to transport him to the United States illegally in 2021 and advised he lived in Missouri before coming to Montana. Investigators later confirmed Ric was a citizen of Mexico who had been removed from the United States in 2014 and had been given a lifetime ban on reentry. Rico did not obtain consent from the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security before entering the United States in 2021.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Yerger prosecuted the case. Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office, Montana Highway Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the ATF conducted the investigation.

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).

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