Thoreau Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Possession of Unregistered Sawed-Off Shotgun
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 11, 2013 |
ALBUQUERQUE—Joe Herrera, Jr., 43, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Thoreau, New Mexico, pleaded guilty this morning to unlawfully possessing a sawed-off shotgun that was not registered to him under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Herrera was indicted in February 2013 on the charge to which he pleaded guilty this morning. According to the indictment, Herrera unlawfully possessed the unregistered sawed off shotgun on August 16, 2011, in McKinley County, New Mexico. Herrera admitted committing the offense when he entered his guilty plea this morning.
At sentencing, Herrera faces a maximum possible penalty of 10 years in federal prison. He remains on conditions of release under pretrial supervision pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled.
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI and the Crownpoint Office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson is prosecuting the case.