Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
HAMMOND – Arnold Flores, 30 years old, of East Chicago, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Senior Judge Moody after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm as an illegal alien, announced Acting United States Attorney M. Scott Proctor.
Flores was sentenced to 18 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release.
According to documents in the case, Flores, an illegal alien with a prior felony conviction for residential entry, possessed a firearm that he displayed to the occupants of another vehicle while driving in Schererville in October 2024, and he possessed another firearm in Gary in February 2025. Both firearms were recovered by law enforcement.
“This District is dedicated to prosecuting illegal aliens who, like Arnold Flores, choose to violate federal law by possessing firearms that Congress has prohibited them from possessing,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Proctor. “As Mr. Flores has learned, such serious crimes will not go unpunished in northern Indiana. My thanks go out to the combined team of state, local, and federal law enforcement professionals who brought him to justice.”
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives High Intensity Drug Trafficking Task Force with assistance from the Gary and Schererville Police Departments. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dean R. Lanter.
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 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.