An illegal alien who pulled a gun on his girlfriend during an argument has been sentenced to 42
months in federal prison. Jose Alberto Ixtepan-Chagala, 26, of Veracruz, Mexico, pleaded guilty
earlier this year to a one-count indictment charging him with being an unlawful alien in possession
of a firearm.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings established that on the night of Feb. 11, 2019,
officers responded to reports of shots fired at the home of the defendant’s girlfriend in Alton,
Illinois. Ixtepan-Chagala reportedly woke his girlfriend by holding a 9mm handgun to her head.
According to reports, he took her outside at gunpoint and then fired the gun into the ground
several times. Several young children were inside the home during the altercation. Responding
officers recovered the gun in a nearby yard and arrested Ixtepan-Chagala, who was later found to be
in the United States unlawfully.
In lieu of supervised release, Ixtepan-Chagala will be subject to removal proceedings at the
completion of his prison term.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), 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 violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive
solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most
violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting
reductions in crime.
The investigation was conducted by agents from the Department of Homeland Security
and the Alton Police Department.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
