A Mexican national has been sentenced to 10 months in federal custody for illegally possessing a firearm. The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays in Kansas City, Missouri.
Brayan Ortega-Carmona, aged 32, was apprehended on May 29, 2024, after law enforcement officers stopped his vehicle for a traffic violation. During the stop, officers discovered a loaded firearm hidden inside the vehicle’s center console. It was also found that Ortega-Carmona had previously been removed from the United States.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV and investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, along with the Kansas City Police Department.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, an initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations. The operation utilizes resources from the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
