Jesus Coronado, Felon in Possession of a Firearm, New Mexico 2024

A Las Cruces man faces 10 years in prison after a federal jury convicted him of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.

Jesus Coronado, 42, was found guilty on February 13, 2024, by a federal jury in New Mexico. According to court documents, on December 11, 2021, Coronado brandished a firearm at a woman in a parking lot, making a jabbing gesture with it in her direction.

The incident occurred when Coronado pulled up next to the woman’s vehicle in his own car, prompting her to flee the scene. Las Cruces Police Department officers obtained an arrest warrant for Coronado and located his vehicle at a residence in Las Cruces but were initially told he was not there.

After conducting sporadic surveillance of the residence for several days, officers observed a male matching Coronado’s description in the driveway on December 13, 2021. When they commanded the male to stop, he appeared to flee into the residence instead. Officers set up a perimeter around the residence and called for the residents to exit.

Two women and another male obeyed the commands, but the male told officers that Coronado had not entered the residence. However, an officer holding the perimeter in the neighbor’s backyard climbed onto the fence separating the properties and observed a firearm on the roof of the residence. Later, a neighbor called the police to report that a male matching Coronado’s description was hiding behind a wall across the street.

At that time, officers located Coronado hiding behind a small cinderblock wall on a nearby property and arrested him. Subsequent DNA testing on the firearm matched Coronado’s DNA. As a previously convicted felon, Coronado knew that he could not possess a firearm and ammunition.

Coronado will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been set. At sentencing, Coronado faces 10 years in prison. The FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated the case with the assistance of the Las Cruces Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher McNair and Richard Williams are prosecuting the case.

MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS

Violent Crime

Watson, Complex Deceit, Maryland 2023

Jul 1, 2006

Violent Crime

Peter Martin, Misdemeanor Suicide, Washington 2025

Mar 25, 2026

Violent Crime

Luiz Carlos da Silva, Machine Gun Parts Trafficking, Arizona 2023

Jun 28, 2021

Violent Crime

United States v. McIntosh, Embezzlement, Delaware 2020

Jul 1, 2020