CALDWELL MAN SENTENCED TO FEDERAL PRISON

Paul Jacob Cano, 30, a resident of Caldwell, Idaho, will serve 37 months in prison for unlawful possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Tom Moss announced on Friday.

Cano was arrested in Caldwell on June 12, 2007, on three outstanding warrants. During a search of his vehicle, he was found to be in possession of a 12 gauge shotgun. The defendant had previously been convicted of aggravated battery in 2002 in Texas and possession of a controlled substance in Owyhee County, Idaho, in 2005.

Cano pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm on January 30, 2008. He was sentenced May 30, 2008, by Senior U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour, a visiting judge from the Western District of Washington, at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Boise. Cano had been convicted of nine prior offenses, including numerous assaults and batteries.

Cano was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Caldwell Street Crimes Unit. He was prosecuted by the Special Assistant United States Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partners and the Idaho Attorney General's Office to combat gang-related crime in Idaho.

"One of the priorities of the Department of Justice is to prosecute violent felons who illegally possess firearms in the District of Idaho. By doing so, we hope to make Idaho a safer place for everyone," Moss said.