Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm and Immigration Offenses
Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Rey Daniel Facio-Garcia (27, Mexico) today pleaded guilty to two indictments— one charging him with possession of a firearm affecting commerce by an illegal alien and another charging him with illegal re-entry into the United States after a previous deportation. Facio-Garcia faces a combined penalty of up to 12 years in federal prison on the offenses. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.
According to court documents, on September 4, 2021, officers from the Leesburg Police Department responded to a residence for a weapons complaint, where they encountered Facio-Garcia sitting in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle surrounded by empty beer cans. Facio-Garcia fled from the officers but was quickly apprehended. The officers located Facio-Garcia’s .45 caliber handgun in the vehicle under the driver’s seat and a .45 caliber shell casing inside the kitchen of the residence. Other persons inside the residence reported that Facio-Garcia had brandished the firearm and fired a shot in the kitchen. Records checks revealed that Facio-Garcia was a Mexican citizen who previously has been deported from the United States in 2014 and 2015. He never had received permission to lawfully return to the United States.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Leesburg Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William S. Hamilton.
This 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.
