Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
On June 5, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Helan Noel Lopez-Sanchez, a 32-year-old citizen of El Salvador, on charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the indictment.
Court documents reveal that on January 16, 2025, law enforcement received information about Lopez-Sanchez's location at a Motel 6 in Fresno after he accessed his Snapchat account. Lopez-Sanchez had previously escaped from police custody. Consequently, the Fresno Sheriff's Office SWAT team was deployed to serve an arrest warrant at the motel.
SWAT operators utilized a drone to enter the motel room and observed Lopez-Sanchez holding a rifle aimed at the door. Law enforcement subsequently apprehended him and found ammunition along with a short-barreled, privately manufactured rifle.
Lopez-Sanchez is legally barred from possessing firearms or ammunition due to past felony convictions for bringing alcohol/drugs into jail and grand theft.
The investigation involved Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Veneman-Hughes is handling prosecution duties for this case.
If convicted, Lopez-Sanchez could face up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Sentencing would be subject to judicial discretion based on statutory factors and Federal Sentencing Guidelines which consider various elements. It is important to note that these charges are allegations; Lopez-Sanchez remains presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America, an initiative by the Department of Justice targeting illegal immigration and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators. This operation aligns resources from Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
