Migrant pleads guilty to ID theft
Adrian Barrera
Mar. 7, 2007 04:57 PM

A man pleaded guilty recently to federal felony charges connected to stealing the identity of a service man and buying a firearm, according to the Department of Justice.

Cirilo Espino Ibarra, 26, a Mesa resident, pleaded guilty of false statements on a passport application and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, according to authorities.

Espino Ibarra appeared before Magistrate Judge Lawrence O. Anderson. Espino Ibarra admitted that he intended to use the passport in order to secure his stay in the United States while traveling back and forth to Mexico.

On the application, Espino Ibarra used the name of a United States Air Force active duty member stationed in Okinawa, Japan.

He also bought a Hi-Point, Model C, 9mm semi-automatic handgun, with an obliterated serial number using the serviceman's identity on the passport application.

A conviction for false statements on a passport application carries a maximum penalty of five years, $250,000 fine or both. A conviction for illegal alien in possession of firearm carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, $250,000 fine or both.

Sentencing for Espino Ibarra is set before Judge Susan R. Bolton on May 14 in Phoenix. Magistrate Judge Anderson ordered Espino Ibarra remain in federal custody until his sentencing. The United States State Department, Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Gilbert Police Department all contributed to the investigation.

Frederick A. Battista, assistant U.S. attorney, district of Arizona prosecuted in the case.


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