Source: United States Department of Justice News
Torrez, the subject of a domestic assault call, was found by police asleep in his car with a loaded gun and marijuana.
A man who was found in possession of a firearm and marijuana as law enforcement investigated allegations of domestic abuse, was sentenced on April 26, 2022, to more than 1 year in federal prison.
Alex Torrez, age 21, from Sioux City, Iowa, pled guilty January 18, 2022, to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Evidence at the detention, change of plea, and sentencing hearings showed, that Torrez possessed a firearm while being a user of marijuana. A victim contacted police and claimed Torrez had assaulted her by punching her in the face after kicking in her front door. This led law enforcement to discover Torrez a few blocks away from the victim’s residence under the influence, asleep in his car, with a loaded revolver on his person, and additional ammunition and marijuana found elsewhere in the car.
Torrez was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand. Torrez was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Torrez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 21-4064. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.