Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
A woman who violated multiple federal firearms laws was sentenced July 9, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City.
Maria Francisca Portalatin, age 53, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty on February 7, 2025, to one count of being a prohibited person in possession of firearms, one count of making false statements during the purchase of firearms, one count of straw purchase of firearms, and one count of concealing a person from arrest.
Evidence in the case showed that in April of 2023, Portalatin knowingly made false statements and representations on ATF forms to Dunham’s Sports Store in Sioux City in connection with her acquisition of multiple firearms. Portalatin later admitted to law enforcement that she was an unlawful user of methamphetamine and purchased the firearms for Freddie Summerville who she knew was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Evidence further showed, that in June of 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Portalatin’s residence and located the four firearms she had purchased. During an interview with law enforcement, Portalatin admitted she lied on the ATF forms and that she was aware that Freddie Summerville was wanted on a federal warrant. In July of 2024, Portalatin and Summerville were stopped in a vehicle near Sioux Falls. Subsequently, in an interview with law enforcement she admitted they were smoking methamphetamine and that she had helped harbor and conceal Summerville.
Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Portalatin was sentenced to 51 months’ imprisonment and was ordered to pay $1,400 in fines and assessments. She must also serve a 2 year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kraig R. Hamit and Kevin C. Fletcher.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 24-CR-04053. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.