ILLEGAL ALIEN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON FOR POSSESSION OF A FIREARM

Sergio Chavez-Cruz, a Caldwell resident and an illegal alien from Mexico, will serve 30 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm.

Chavez-Cruz, 32, pled guilty in federal court to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm on August 30, 2007. He was sentenced this morning before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the federal courthouse in Boise. As part of his plea agreement, the government dismissed one count of possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.

Chavez-Cruz was arrested by the Caldwell Street Crimes Unit. He admitted to being illegally present in the United States for the past eight years and to possessing the sawed-off shotgun.

Even though Chavez-Cruz has no prior record, he will serve the next 30 months in federal prison before being deported to Mexico. Based on this conviction, if he re-enters the United States without the permission of the Department of Homeland Security, he will face an additional 20 years in federal prison.