Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

LAREDO, Texas – A 43-year-old Zapata man and his common-law wife have been ordered to federal prison following their convictions of being felons in possession of firearms, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Jesus Jose De Jesus and Amira Elizabeth Saenz, 35, each pleaded guilty March 21, 2017.

Today, U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana ordered De Jesus to serve 46 months in prison, while Saenz received a six-month term of imprisonment plus an additional six months to serve on home confinement for revocation of a prior supervised release. After completion of their sentences, both will serve three years of supervised release.

De Jesus is a convicted sex offender and multiple-time convicted felon. Saenz is a convicted drug felon. As such, both are prohibited from possessing firearms per federal law. On Oct. 27, 2015, law enforcement officers were conducting compliance checks on sex offenders in Zapata County, at which time they encountered four firearms inside a residential trailer located on the 3400 block of South U.S. Zapata Highway 83 in Zapata.  

The next day, agents recovered the four firearms located in the bedroom the couple shared. The firearms included a .308 caliber rifle, .22 caliber rifle, seven millimeter rifle and a .410 caliber shotgun.

Saenz was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. De Jesus will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorneys José Homero Ramirez and José Angel Flores Jr. prosecuted the case.