BOISE - U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced the sentencing yesterday of Jesus Manuel Zuniga, 28, of Nampa, Idaho, for unlawful possession of a firearm, and for violating the terms of his supervised release. Zuniga, a member of the Nampa Northside Gang, was ordered by Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill to serve 64 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Zuniga pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 31, 2013.
In his plea, Zuniga admitted that on Oct. 30, 2012, a Nampa Police officer initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle pursuant to a warrant for Zuniga’s arrest for violating his federal supervised release. After the vehicle stopped, Zuniga, who was a passenger in the vehicle, attempted to elude two Deputy U.S. Marshals. He was apprehended and arrested in possession of a firearm, later identified as a Phoenix Arms.22 semi-automatic pistol. Judge Winmill found that Zuniga committed an aggravated assault with the firearm against a Deputy U.S. Marshal during the pursuit, and increased his sentence as a result. Because Zuniga had previously been convicted in 2010 of unlawful possession of a firearm, a felony offense punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, he is prohibited from possessing firearms. Zuniga was on federal supervised release for the previous conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm when he committed this offense.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Nampa Police Department, and the U.S. Marshals Service.
The case was prosecuted as part of Idaho’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, which seeks to reduce gun violence in Idaho.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
