Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
TYLER, Texas –A Mexican national has been sentenced for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Tomas Ocamp-Mondragon, 37, a Mexican national illegally living in Tyler, pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on July 10, 2025.
According to information presented in court, on August 5, 2024, Ocampo-Mondragon was stopped for a traffic violation in Smith County. It was determined that he was intoxicated, and he was arrested. During the arrest, a loaded firearm was discovered in his pocket.
Further investigation revealed Ocampo-Mondragon was a citizen of Mexico and had previously been found unlawfully present in the United States on September 14, 2019, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was also found to be in possession of a firearm during that encounter. He voluntarily returned to Mexico on January 3, 2020, and did not have permission to return to the United States.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Department of Homeland Security, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble.
###