Fruitland Man Receives 30-Month Prison Sentence for Unlawful Possession of Firearm

ALBUQUERQUE—This morning, a federal judge sentenced Donovan Cortez, 34, to a 30-month term of imprisonment for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Cortez, a member of the Navajo Nation who resides in Fruitland, New Mexico, will be on supervised release for two years after completing his prison sentence.

Cortez was indicted on September 14, 2011 and charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm between March 27, 2010 and April 3, 2010, in San Juan County, New Mexico; and possession of an unregistered firearm.

At the time, Cortez was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because he previously had been convicted of attempted aggravated assault on a peace officer in the Eleventh Judicial District Court of New Mexico in San Juan County.

Cortez was arrested on October 7, 2011 and has been in federal custody since that time.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Gonzales said Cortez entered a guilty plea to count one of the indictment on March 26, 2012, under a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Count two of the indictment, charging Cortez with possession of an unregistered firearm, was dismissed after Cortez was sentenced.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and it was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack E. Burkhead.