Source: Office of United States Attorneys
Jackson, MS – A citizen of Mexico was sentenced today to 12 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and illegal re-entry into the United States after having been removed or deported.
According to court documents and statements made in open court, Erik Sel Camacho-Lara, 31, was arrested by the Ridgeland Police Department for possession of a stolen firearm after law enforcement responded to a call for service at a Ridgeland residence. The caller was a minor child that resided in the home. The minor child told Ridgeland Police that Camacho-Lara was armed and had possibly discharged a firearm inside the home. Responding officers were forced to make entry into the home to apprehend Camacho-Lara. Officers opened a bedroom door inside the home and heard the slide of a semi-automatic handgun being manipulated. Once inside the room, Officers saw Camacho-Lara holding a handgun. After speaking with officers, Camacho-Lara surrendered the firearm and was taken into custody. The United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations then took over the investigation. A biometric verification confirmed Camacho-Lara’s identity and revealed that he had been previously removed from the United States on April 2, 2013, by United States Border Patrol Agents in Texas. Camacho-Lara pleaded guilty to the charged conduct on March 6, 2025.
Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and Eric P. DeLaune, Special Agent-in-Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, Louisiana, made the announcement.
The United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case with assistance from the Ridgeland Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Goff prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by the Mississippi Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal 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).