Two Non-Citizens Illegally Present in the United States Sentenced to Prison for Possessing Firearms in Springfield

Springfield, Ill. – Walter Geovanni Arteta-Gonzalez, age 33, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment on July 10, 2024, for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and illegal reentry after removal. Santos Fernando Zepeda-Arteta, 21, was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment on July 11, 2024, for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Both men are originally from Honduras.

At the sentencing hearings before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen R. Lawless, the government established that both Arteta-Gonzalez and Zepeda-Arteta possessed firearms knowing they were in the United States without legal documentation. On November 27, 2023, Springfield Police officers responded to a Springfield hotel to investigate shots being fired. After eyewitnesses were interviewed and the hotel surveillance video was reviewed, both Arteta-Gonzalez and Zepeda-Arteta admitted to police officers that they possessed firearms. Further, both men were observed on the videos holding a firearm and firing several shots into the air. Arteta-Gonzalez stated he fired rounds outside his hotel room “just for fun.” The gun possessed by Zepeda-Arteta was stolen from an unspecified location in St. Louis, Missouri.

Both Arteta-Gonzalez and Zepeda-Arteta have remained in the custody of the United States Marshals Service since their arrests in November of 2023. 

The statutory penalties for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person are up to 15 years imprisonment; up to three years of supervised release; up to a $250,000 fine; and a $100 special assessment.

In addition to the firearm possession, Arteta-Gonzalez was sentenced on illegal re-entry into the country after a prior removal. The statutory penalties for this charge include up to 2 years' imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to 3 years supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.

The Springfield Police Department, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Sangamon County Sheriffs’ Office investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Sierra-Senor Moore represented the government in the prosecution.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.