Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

BOISE – Davie J. Martinez, Jr., 41, and Lorenzo Ornelas, 31, both of Burley, Idaho, pleaded guilty yesterday in United States District Court to felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced.

 

According to court records, in January of this year, Martinez and Ornelas led officers on a 20-minute car chase. Martinez was driving, while Ornelas threw multiple items from the vehicle, including a .40 caliber handgun. Ultimately, officers were able to stop the vehicle and arrest them. While searching the car, officers located a .30-.30 caliber rifle and multiple boxes of ammunition. Both Martinez and Ornelas had absconded from parole when they committed the offense.

 

The charge of felon in possession of a firearm is punishable by up to ten years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

 

Martinez and Ornelas will be sentenced on January 30, 2018, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

 

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Cassia County Sheriff’s Office, and the Minidoka County Sheriff’s Office.

 

The case was prosecuted by the Special Assistant U.S. Attorney hired by the Ada County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and the Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Board. The Idaho High Intensity Drug Trafficking Board is a collaboration of local law enforcement drug task forces and prosecuting agencies dedicated to addressing regional drug trafficking organizations that operate in Ada, Canyon, and Malheur Counties.