A Nicaraguan national has pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi. The plea was entered before Judge Michael P. Mills on August 28, 2025. Sentencing is scheduled for a later date, with the defendant facing up to fifteen years in prison.
Court documents state that Victor A. Hernandez, 29, was arrested after officers observed him commit several driving offenses during a patrol in Hernando, Mississippi. Officers conducted a traffic stop and found a Smith and Wesson handgun in Hernandez’s possession. The handgun had been reported stolen from an individual in Tennessee.
Further investigation by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) revealed that Hernandez was not a U.S. citizen and was unlawfully present in the country.
Clay Joyner, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, commented: “The Second Amendment is a sacred right for American citizens. Those who are illegally in the United States are not able to enjoy that sacred right and possess firearms. The United States Attorney’s Office will vigorously prosecute those who illegally possess firearms. We thank ICE and the Hernando Police Department for their diligent work in investigating this matter.”
The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner and Scott Lewis, Acting Deputy Field Office Director for ICE’s Memphis Field Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Herzog Jr., following an investigation by ICE and the Hernando Police Department.
This prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline), which is an initiative led by the Department of Justice to address illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime through coordinated efforts such as OCDETFs and Project Safe Neighborhood.
