Salvador Diaz-Hermosillo, a 38-year-old foreign national, has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm illegally in the United States. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced the plea. Diaz-Hermosillo was charged with knowingly possessing a .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle while being an alien unlawfully present in the country.
The Sallisaw Police Department discovered Diaz-Hermosillo's possession of the firearm during an investigation and arrest for Driving Under the Influence. According to U.S. law, specifically Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(5), illegal aliens are prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
The case resulted from a joint investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Sallisaw Police Department. Chief U.S. District Judge Ronald A. White accepted Diaz-Hermosillo's plea in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma and ordered a presentence investigation report.
Diaz-Hermosillo will remain in custody under the United States Marshals Service until sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dak T. Cohen represented the government in this case.