Felon and Illegal Alien Sentenced for Possessing a Firearm

BOISE – Raul Valencia-Hernandez, 51, of Palmdale, California, was sentenced today to 20 months in prison for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm. Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Valencia-Hernandez to forfeit the firearm involved in the offense. Valencia-Hernandez pleaded guilty to the charge on May 12, 2014.

According to information presented at his sentencing hearing, on October 15, 2013, officers with the Twin Falls Police Department responded to a call of suspicious drug activity at the Motel 6 in Twin Falls. Valencia-Hernandez was found to be in possession of a loaded Ruger 9mm pistol, a digital scale, methamphetamine pipes, plastic baggies with methamphetamine residue and a drug ledger. Valencia-Hernandez is prohibited from possessing any firearm because he is an alien illegally in the United States, and because he had previously been convicted of the felony offense of sale or transport of a controlled substance in California. Valencia-Hernandez, who has illegally resided in the United States for the past 34 years, will be deported to Mexico after serving his prison sentence.

This case was investigated by the Twin Falls Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.