PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Mauricio Galvez-Valdez, 42, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Mary H. Murguia to five years in federal prison plus $7,600 in financial penalties. Galvez-Valdez pleaded guilty on December 15, 2008 to Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime. In addition to his sentence, he was ordered to forfeit $11,415 currency and the firearms located in the homes.
On July22, 2008, a search of Galvez-Valdez’s primary residence in Phoenix revealed a Smith and Wesson .357 magnum revolver in his night stand drawer. During that search, Galvez-Valdez told agents that he also rented a home in Laveen, Ariz. and that 50 kilograms of marijuana were in that house. A search of the Laveen house on July 22, 2008, revealed 50 kilograms of marijuana; $11,415 in U.S. currency; a Glock semi-automatic pistol; a Century Arms International, AK-47 type pistol; ammunition for those firearms; men’s clothing and a checkbook with Galvez-Valdez’s name. Galvez-Valdez possessed the Glock and Century Arms International pistols in furtherance of, and in relation to, his intentional possession with intent to distribute the approximately 50 kilograms of marijuana.
This case is a result of Project Safe Neighborhoods, an illegal firearms enforcement program. The effectiveness of Project Safe Neighborhoods in the District of Arizona is based on the ability of federal, state, and local agencies to cooperate in a unified offensive led by U.S. Attorney Diane J. Humetewa. Through ongoing partnerships among federal, state, and local law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies, like the one in this case, U.S. Attorney Humetewa is implementing a series of strategies that are contoured to fit the specific firearms crime problems throughout Arizona.
The investigation in this case was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Phoenix Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. The prosecution was handled by Theresa Cole Rassas and Brent Landis, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-08-0941-PHX-MHM
RELEASE NUMBER: 2009-077(Galvez-Valdez)
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