Thoreau Man Sentenced to 24 Months for Unlawful Possession of Unregistered Sawed-Off Shotgun
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 11, 2014 |
ALBUQUERQUE—Joe Herrera, Jr., 44, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Thoreau, New Mexico, was sentenced this morning to 24 months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release for unlawfully possessing a sawed-off shotgun that was not registered to him.
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 on July 11, 2013.
The case was investigated by the Albuquerque office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with assistance from the Gallup office of the FBI and the Crownpoint office of the Navajo Nation Division of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Novaline D. Wilson prosecuted the case.