Illegal Alien Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possessing a Gun While Being a Meth User

The following press release was published by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys on April 30, 2019. It is reproduced in full below.

Serna had a lengthy criminal history, and had illegally entered the United States seven times.

An illegal alien was sentenced to 21 months’ in federal prison today.

Luis Alberto DeLoera Serna, age 40, received the prison term after a Jan. 11, 2019, guilty plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Evidence produced by the United States at the change of plea and sentencing hearings revealed DeLoera Serna, was not only an alien illegally in the United States and drug user in possession of a firearm, but that he was also an armed drug dealer with a criminal history. That history included traffic offenses, domestic violence, and seven illegal entries into the United States.

DeLoera Serna was sentenced in Sioux City by Chief United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. DeLoera Serna was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. DeLoera Serna is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violence crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violence offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

The case was investigated by the Sioux City, Iowa Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.

The case file number is 18-CR-04091.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys