May 21, 2010
THORNTON MAN ILLEGALLY IN U.S. INDICTED FOR BEING AN ALIEN IN POSSESSION OF A FIREARM
FRANCISCO ORNELAS-CAMACHO ALSO FACES STATE CHARGES OF ATTEMPTED MURDER
DENVER – Francisco Ornelas-Camacho, age 20, who was living in Thornton, but is a citizen of Mexico, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on Monday, May 17, 2010, on one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, U.S. Attorney David Gaouette and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Special Agent in Charge Kumar Kibble announced. Ornelas-Camacho is presently being held in state custody in Jefferson County.
According to publicly available documents, on January 1, 2010, Ornelas-Camacho allegedly fired a gun wounding two people in Arvada. He was then arrested by local authorities for two counts of attempted murder, as well as two counts of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. As a result of the shooting, the federal indictment alleges that the defendant knowingly possessed one or more firearms while being an alien who was illegally and unlawfully in the United States, a federal felony offense.
“Thanks to the excellent investigative work of the Arvada Police Department, ICE, and ATF, a criminal alien allegedly responsible for violent crimes in our community has now been brought to justice,” said U.S. Attorney David Gaouette.
“Our ICE agents work closely with local law enforcement agencies to help keep our communities safe by investigating and targeting a variety of transnational threats,” said Kumar Kibble, Special Agent in Charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. “One of those significant threats that directly jeopardizes public safety is criminal aliens who illegally possess guns. In these cases ICE can use our unique immigration and customs law enforcement authorities to remove these threats from our streets, from our country.” Kibble oversees a four-state area, which includes: Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.
“Working closely with our law enforcement partners, in this instance the Arvada Police Department and ICE, to bring violent armed offenders to justice is one of the things we do best at ATF,” said Marvin Richardson, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Denver Field Division.
If convicted, Ornelas-Camacho faces not more than 10 years in federal prison, and up to a $250,000 crime. He also faces possible deportation after any punishment on the state and federal levels.
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Arvada Police Department. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) assisted with the investigation.
The defendant is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John Canedy.
The charges contained in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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