U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Arlin Alexis Bustillo to 46 months in prison on July 10 after he was found with weapons and fraudulent documents in an abandoned hospital in St. Louis.
Bustillo, a 34-year-old native of Honduras, pleaded guilty in April to one count of being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a false permanent resident card. He admitted that on July 31, 2025, officers from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department apprehended him at St. Alexius Hospital for trespassing. At the time, Bustillo had a large machete on his waistband, a stolen pistol, and a sawed-off .22-caliber rifle found inside his backpack. Officers also discovered fraudulent Social Security and permanent resident cards.
According to court proceedings, Bustillo will be deported upon completion of his sentence. The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations division, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Phillip Voss and Ricardo Dixon prosecuting.
The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), described as “the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe.” The PSN program operates through U.S. Attorneys’ offices across all federal districts as part of Operation Take Back America.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri advances community well-being by working with entities to prevent crime and improve quality of life; it uses courthouses in both St. Louis and Cape Girardeau; operates under the United States Department of Justice; serves 49 counties; investigates federal crimes; enforces civil rights; and covers much of eastern Missouri, according to the official website.