DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of New Mexico

For Immediate Release

Thursday, July 14, 2016
Damon P. Martinez
, United States Attorney
Contact: Elizabeth M. Martinez

Texas Felon Sentenced to Ten Years for Unlawfully Possessing Firearms and Ammunition in New Mexico

ALBUQUERQUE – Dylan Henry Ritter, 36, of Gardendale, Texas, was sentenced today in federal court in Albuquerque, N.M., to 120 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for violating the federal firearms laws.  The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Damon P. Martinez, U.S. Marshal Conrad E. Candelaria, and Special Agent in Charge Thomas G. Atteberry of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
 
Ritter was arrested on Oct. 7, 2014, on a criminal complaint charging him with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition on Sept. 19, 2014, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Ritter was traveling through New Mexico after absconding from the jurisdiction of a Texas state court to avoid a sentencing hearing when he was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service.  Deputy U.S. Marshals seized numerous firearms and rounds of ammunition when they searched Ritter’s hotel room and travel trailer following his arrest.
 
Ritter was indicted on Nov. 5, 2014, and charged with being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  According to the indictment, Ritter was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of numerous felony offenses including first degree burglary, attempted robbery, attempted theft by receiving stolen property, aggravated assault, felon in possession of firearm, possession of a dangerous weapon, burglary and attempted theft of a rental vehicle.  Ritter pled guilty to the indictment on April 8, 2016, without the benefit of a plea agreement.
 
This case was investigated by the Albuquerque offices of the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Presiliano Torrez prosecuted the case.
 

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16-361

Phoenix Field Division