Mexican man convicted in Arizona of illegally possessing gun after overstaying visa

PHOENIX — A Mexican man who overstayed his visa in the United States was convicted last month of illegally possessing a firearm, officials announced Monday.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona identified the man as 31-year-old Luis Donaldo Garcia Lopez.

A federal grand jury found Garcia Lopez guilty on Feb. 26 after a three-day trial, prosecutors said.

The maximum penalty for a conviction of being an alien in possession of a firearm and ammunition is 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 and a maximum of three years of supervised release.

Garcia Lopez is scheduled to be sentenced on May 21.

What led to the Mexican man being convicted in Arizona?

On Feb. 21, 2025, Enforcement and Removal Operations officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) pulled Garcia Lopez over after learning that he was unlawfully present in the U.S., according to court documents and trial evidence.

During the stop, officers asked Garcia Lopez if he had any weapons, and he admitted to there being a gun in a lunchbox in his car, according to prosecutors.

When officers checked the lunchbox, they found a Glock semi-automatic handgun that was loaded with five rounds of ammunition.

A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent took possession of the gun, and Garcia Lopez was arrested for the immigration violations.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, record checks showed that Garcia Lopez had a B1/B2 visa that expired in March 2023 and that his last lawful entry in the U.S. was on July 26, 2020.

Records also showed that Garcia Lopez never renewed the visa or reapplied for admission into the country, prosecutors said.

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