DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

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

For Immediate Release

Thursday, April 9, 2015
Damon P. Martinez
, United States Attorney
Contact: Elizabeth Martinez

Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Thirteen Years for Federal Commercial Robbery and Firearms Conviction

ALBUQUERQUE – Gilbert Gonzales, 34, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 156 months followed by [one-three] years of supervised release for violating the Hobbs Act and federal firearms laws.

Gonzales was arrested in June 2013, on a criminal complaint alleging that he unlawfully possessed a firearm and ammunition on May 25, 2013, in Bernalillo County, N.M. According to the criminal complaint, an officer of the Albuquerque Police Department found a firearm and ammunition in a vehicle Gonzales was driving following a routine traffic stop. At the time, Gonzales was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of numerous felony offenses in the 2nd Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico.

Gonzales subsequently was indicted in April 2014, in a five-count superseding indictment charging him with two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, robbing a business engaged in interstate commerce , and using and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. According to the indictment, Gonzales unlawfully possessed firearms in Bernalillo County on May 25, 2013 and June 5, 2013. It also alleged that Gonzales possessed a stolen firearm on May 25, 2013. It also charged Gonzales with interfering with interstate commerce by robbing a commercial business at gunpoint on May 29, 2013, and with brandishing a firearm at an employee of the business during the robbery.

On Jan. 27, 2015, Gonzales pled guilty to the armed robbery of a business engaged in interstate commerce and to brandishing a firearm during the robbery. In his plea agreement, Gonzales admitted that on May 29, 2013, he obstructed interstate commerce by robbing Southwest Communications, located at 120 San Pedro SE in Albuquerque. Gonzales further admitted brandishing a firearm at an employee of that business during the armed robbery.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistants U.S. Attorneys David M. Walsh and Louis E. Valencia as part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets “the worst of the worst” offenders for federal prosecution. Under this initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement agencies work with New Mexico’s District Attorneys and state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to target violent or repeat offenders for federal prosecution with the goal of removing repeat offenders from communities in New Mexico for as long as possible.

Phoenix Field Division