ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In a shocking display of brazen disregard for the law, Christian Alexander Sangiovanni, 33, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced to ten years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
The disturbing case began on April 25, 2010, when Sangiovanni brandished a firearm at a 17-year-old high school student in a car outside a convenience store in the Northeast Heights of Albuquerque. While brandishing the firearm, Sangiovanni threatened to kill first the teenager and then himself. Later that night, Sangiovanni sent the teenager an E-mail in which he threatened her against telling anyone about the violent encounter. Thereafter, Sangiovanni E-mailed the teenager photographs of himself holding a pistol to his head.
The teenager and her mother contacted the police on April 26, 2010, and reported Sangiovanni’s threats against the teenager and provided the E-mails containing the threats and photographs of Sangiovanni holding the pistol to his head. On May 3, 2010, after Sangiovanni continued to send threatening E-mails to the teenager, officers executed an arrest and search operation at a residence where Sangiovanni was staying.
After arresting Sangiovanni on state charges, the officers found a Smith & Wesson, model 459, 9mm pistol with an extended magazine that contained rounds of ammunition. The pistol subsequently was identified by the teenager as the weapon that Sangiovanni brandished at her on April 25, 2010.
Sangiovanni was convicted on March 20, 2013, after a jury trial where the evidence established that he was a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. At the time, Sangiovanni was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition because he previously had been convicted of the following three felony offenses in the 12th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico: embezzlement in 2000; sexual exploitation of children in 2001; and battery on a police officer in 2003. He also previously had been convicted of possession of heroin with intent to distribute in the 4th Judicial District Court for the State of New Mexico in Guadalupe County in 2005.
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Albuquerque Police Department with assistance from the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Norman Cairns.
Defendant: Christian Alexander Sangiovanni
Criminal Charges: Felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition
City and State: Albuquerque, N.M.
Exact Date: April 25, 2010 (crime), March 20, 2013 (sentencing)
Sentence or Outcome: Ten years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release
Related Federal Cases
- Adam Alshekhly, Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition, Oklahoma 2024 · Oklahoma
- Andre Kase Jr, Possession of Stolen Firearm, Iowa 2013 · Iowa
- Darrel Salazar, Brandishing a Firearm, New Mexico 2016 · New Mexico
- Peter Pagan, Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, New Mexico 2015 · New Mexico
- Reynaldo Marquez, Discharging a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, New Mexico 2014 · New Mexico
Key Facts
- State: New Mexico
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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