SAN ANTONIO – A federal grand jury in San Antonio returned an indictment today charging Juan Claudio D’Luna-Mendez, 23, and Juan Francisco D’Luna-Bilbao, 48, both citizens of Mexico, with one count each of possession of a firearm while unlawfully present in the United States.
According to court documents, the registration for a tractor trailer used in an attempted human smuggling event came back to a residence in San Antonio. San Antonio Police Department officers set up surveillance on the residence and observed two males leaving in separate trucks. After traffic stops on both trucks, the drivers were identified as D’Luna-Mendez and D’Luna-Bilbao. D’Luna-Bilboa was in possession of a handgun that was found in the center console of the truck he was driving. A search warrant was executed at the residence where additional firearms were located.
If convicted, both defendants face up to 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Both defendants have remained in federal custody since their arrests on June 27, 2022.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Fred J. Milanowski made the announcement.
The ATF, with valuable assistance from the San Antonio Police Department, is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Brown and Sarah Spears are prosecuting the case.
This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. Anonymous tips involving gang crime and wanted fugitives can be submitted at www.stopsanantoniogangs.org.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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