Luis Anthony Tobanche, Firearms and Immigration Violations, New Mexico 2013

ALBUQUERQUE – In a shocking turn of events, Luis Anthony Tobanche, a 34-year-old Mexican national, has pleaded guilty to violating federal firearms and immigration laws in the state of New Mexico.

Tobanche, who was arrested in March 2013, was accused of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was subsequently indicted in August 2013 for unlawfully possessing firearms and ammunition, as well as unlawful reentry by a previously deported alien.

According to court filings, Tobanche was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition due to his previous convictions, which included aggravated battery and assault with a deadly weapon, cocaine trafficking and heroin trafficking in 2006, and battery on a peace officer in 2010.

Video footage from the Sandia Casino’s surveillance cameras revealed a shooting episode in a parking garage, during which Tobanche was shot in the neck. After the shooting, Tobanche was seen pointing a firearm towards a vehicle from which the shot was fired, before handing a silver handgun to another person. Deputies from the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office subsequently recovered the firearm from that person.

In entering his guilty plea, Tobanche admitted to possessing a pistol, a shotgun, and ammunition on March 5, 2013, despite his status as a convicted felon. He also admitted to previously being deported from the United States in June 2010 and failing to obtain authorization to reenter the country.

Tobanche has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending sentencing, which has yet to be scheduled. At sentencing, he faces a statutory maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

This case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the FBI, the Sandia Pueblo Tribal Police, and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon K. Stanford. The case is part of a federal anti-violence initiative that targets ‘the worst of the worst’ offenders for federal prosecution.

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