Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 31-year-old Corpus Christi resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction for being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Ricardo Diego Garza pleaded guilty Nov. 29, 2018.

 

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack sentenced Garza to 110 months in custody to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that each of the previous sentences of incarceration had not deterred the defendant’s criminal conduct.

 

On April 14, 2018, law enforcement responded to a disturbance with a weapon at a business located in the 5800 block of Weber in Corpus Christi. Witnesses had reported a male in a white vehicle had pointed a black handgun with an extended magazine at another individual at that location.

 

Upon arrival, officers approached Garza who was attempting to exit the driver’s seat of the vehicle, at which time officers observed and seized a .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun containing an extended magazine loaded with 21 rounds of ammunition.

 

Garza was previously convicted of multiple felony offenses and, therefore, is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition per federal law.

 

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

 

The Corpus Christi Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lance Watt is prosecuting the case.