Israel Castro, 37, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon after pleading guilty to possessing a firearm as an illegal alien, according to a July 22 announcement from United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.
Mildred said, “An armed illegal alien will serve two years in jail followed by a year of supervised release after yet again violating our nation’s borders, laws, and sovereignty and being in possession of a firearm. On February 2, 2025, law enforcement responded to a report of gunshots fired at a residence on Cardinal Drive in East Chicago, Indiana, involving a white transit van. A witness identified Israel Castro as the shooter. Law enforcement located the van and detained Castro, who admitted to having a weapon inside the van. A semi-automatic pistol was later recovered from the van. He had been previously convicted of Illegal Entry on May 15, 2014, in the Northern District of Indiana.”
The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Kristian R. Mukoski prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America—a nationwide initiative that marshals resources from the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration and violent crime—and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which coordinates federal, state, local and tribal efforts against violent crime through U.S. Attorneys’ offices across all federal districts.
According to Mildred, “Our nation is safer when armed illegal aliens are caught, incarcerated, and removed. The Defendant needs to return to his home country and not violate our nation’s laws again.”