NEW ORLEANS - A federal grand jury indicted Erlin Jovany Gamez Maldonado, a 29-year-old Honduran illegal alien, on charges of possessing a firearm while unlawfully present in the United States, U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced.
The indictment, returned last week, charges Gamez-Maldonado with violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5)(A) and 924(a)(8). According to court documents, Gamez-Maldonado was found in possession of an Anderson Manufacturing Model AM-15 rifle, a multi-caliber firearm, on or about May 4. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 15 years of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.
Courcelle reiterated that “an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Katherine Kaufman of the General Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
The indictment falls under Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice nationwide initiative designed “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 operation has driven a surge of federal firearms and immigration prosecutions across the Eastern District of Louisiana and other jurisdictions since its launch.
Gamez-Maldonado’s next court appearance has not yet been publicly scheduled.