Illegal Alien Sentenced to Federal Prison for Unlawfully Possessing a Firearm

Pensacola, Florida - Juan De La Cruz Mejia Castro, 33, of El Salvador, was sentenced to ten months in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm as an alien unlawfully in the United States. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: "This dangerous illegal alien is precisely the kind of violent criminal that Operation Take Back America was launched to target and remove from our communities. President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have devoted the full might of the Department of Justice toward keeping our citizens safe from the perpetrators of violent crime, and my office will continue to aggressively prosecute these cases to give the residents of the Northern District of Florida the safe streets they deserve."

Court documents reflect that law enforcement responded to a report of shots fired, and upon making contact with the defendant he admitted to drinking alcohol in his truck before firing two rounds from a 9-millimeter pistol around 10:30 p.m. Deputies from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office found two spent shell casings at the scene, as well as a small amount of marijuana possessed by the defendant.

"The illegal possession of firearms by those unlawfully present in the United States poses a direct threat to the safety of our communities and the rule of law," said Homeland Security Investigations Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. "HSI, alongside our law enforcement partners, will aggressively pursue and prosecute anyone who endangers public safety. Those who violate our nation's immigration and gun laws will face swift and decisive consequences."

The case was investigated by Escambia County Sheriff's Office, U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Brooke DiSalvo prosecuted the case.

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.

The United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation's principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of FloridaLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. website. For more information about the United States Attorney's Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.