Source: United States Attorneys General
Headline: Man Illegally Residing in Lexington Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing a Firearm and Fraudulent Social Security Cards
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Jesus Yakamara Lopez-Villa, a Mexican national illegally residing in Lexington, was sentenced to 33 months in prison, after pleading guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and to possession of fraudulent social security cards.
Law enforcement officers encountered Lopez-Villa in June 2017, during the execution of a state search warrant in Lexington. Officers found Lopez-Villa in possession of three grams of cocaine, two fraudulent Social Security Cards, and a pistol. Lopez-Villa, a citizen of Mexico without permission to enter the United States, has previously been deported on two separate occasions.
Robert M. Duncan, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Shawn Byers, Assistant Field Office Director, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); and Ron Compton, Acting Chief of Police, Lexington Police Department, jointly announced the sentence today.
ICE and the Lexington Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Tanner Bradley represented the United States.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program that has been historically successful in bringing together all levels of law enforcement to reduce violent crime and make neighborhoods safer for everyone. Attorney General Sessions has made turning the tide of rising violent crime in America a top priority. As part of a series of actions to address this crime trend, Attorney General Sessions announced the reinvigoration of PSN and directed all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to develop a district, crime reduction strategy that incorporates the lessons learned since PSN launched in 2001.