Jacksonville, Florida – Chief United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan has sentenced Jose Angel Vazquez (60, Jacksonville) to 18 months in federal prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release, for knowingly making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer. Vazquez had pleaded guilty on November 3, 2021.
According to court documents, Vazquez attempted to purchase a handgun from a federally licensed firearms dealer on October 31, 2020. Vazquez falsely stated on the required ATF Form 4473 that he was not a felon, when in fact he had numerous prior felony convictions, including aggravated assault, felony petty theft, possession of an anti-shoplifting device countermeasure, possession of a controlled substance, grand theft, resisting a police officer, burglary, and possession of burglary tools.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Cyrus P. Zomorodian.
This case is 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.
Making sure that victims of federal crimes are treated with compassion, fairness and respect.