DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
Eastern District of Wisconsin

For Immediate Release

Monday, June 4, 2018
Matthew D. Krueger
, United States Attorney
Contact: Dean Puschnig

Illegal Alien Sentenced to 41 Months in Federal Prison for Possessing AR-15 Style Rifle and a Handgun in Connection with Drug Trafficking

United States Attorney Matthew D. Krueger announced that on June 1, 2018, United States District Court Judge J.P. Stadtmueller sentenced Edy Matute to 41 months in prison for being an illegal alien in possession of firearms in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(5)(A) & 924(a)(2). Matute also received a sentencing enhancement for possessing the firearms in connection with drug trafficking.
 
As part of an investigation into a large-scale drug and firearm trafficking organization originating in the Southern District of Illinois, federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives executed a search warrant on Matute’s Milwaukee residence on December 5, 2017. The agents recovered a chrome Taurus PT945 handgun and a Bushmaster AR-15 style rifle. They also recovered a grocery bag that contained two "kilo wrappers" that tested positive for cocaine residue. At the time of the search warrant, Matute, who is a citizen of Honduras and unlawfully in the United States, had been convicted of driving under the influence three times and was in immigration removal proceedings.
 
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary J. Corey. The related cases in the Southern District of Illinois are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.
# # #
St. Paul Field Division