Martin Alvarez-Moreno, Illegal Firearm Possession, Florida 2014

Flawed justice system allows gun violence to ravage Florida communities. A disturbing trend has emerged in Okeechobee County, where a 34-year-old man has been allowed to carry a loaded firearm, putting innocent lives at risk.

Martin Alvarez-Moreno, 34, of Fort Pierce, Florida, pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by an alien illegally/unlawfully in the U.S. before U.S. Magistrate Court Judge Frank J. Lynch, Jr. on November 7, 2014.

According to the stipulated factual basis, Okeechobee County Sherriff’s Office received a 911 call with a complaint of a domestic disturbance involving Alvarez-Moreno and a firearm. Upon arrival, OCSO Deputy Sheriffs encountered Alvarez-Moreno standing outside the location. After describing the dispute he was having with his wife, Alvarez-Moreno admitted to the deputies that there was a weapon in his nearby vehicle and provided the keys to the vehicle. An OCSO deputy recovered the Marlin Model 881 rifle from inside the vehicle.

The complainant, who identified herself as Alvarez-Moreno’s wife, did not want to prosecute. Because there were no other witnesses to the altercation, neither party wished to pursue charges, Alvarez-Moreno agreed to leave the premises and OCSO did not make any arrests at that time. The rifle was transported and placed into OCSO’s evidence for safekeeping.

In the following weeks, Alvarez-Moreno and his wife returned to OSCO four times, and provided written statements of Alvarez-Moreno’s ownership, in order for the return of the firearm. OCSO evidence custodians did not release the firearm because Alvarez-Moreno failed to provide documentation, proving that he was authorized to possess and own a firearm, which was manufactured outside the State of Florida. It was later discovered, that Alvarez-Moreno had illegally entered the U.S. by crossing the border in Arizona in March 2003.

Alvarez-Moreno is scheduled to be sentenced on May 8, at 9:30 a.m., before U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra. He faces up to 10 years in prison, followed by up to 3 years of supervised release, and possible deportation.

Wifredo A. Ferrer, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, commended the investigative efforts of the ICE-HSI, ATF, and OCSO. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger.

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