GREAT FALLS — A man admitted in federal court in Great Falls on Tuesday to firearm and immigration crimes.
Jesus Zamora-Cuevas was arrested in Glacier County several weeks ago.
Law enforcement officers found a stolen firearm, ammunition, methamphetamine, fentanyl pills, and counterfeit identification cards, U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said in a news release.
Prosecutors alleged that at 4:30 a.m. on Jan. 14, Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services officers responded to a report of a strange vehicle parked near a resident’s driveway.
The caller reported hearing what sounded like a gun being cocked when he approached the vehicle. Officers found the vehicle near the caller’s driveway.
Zamora-Cuevas was the driver and there was one passenger. Officers removed both individuals from the vehicle and patted them down. Officers found approximately 32 grams of meth on Zamora-Cuevas.
Officers saw the butt of a pistol under the driver’s seat and removed it.
The pistol, which had a round in the chamber and a partially loaded magazine, had been reported stolen in Washington.
A search warrant was executed on the vehicle, and officers found a second firearm, a .410-gauge shotgun, in the trunk, a second loaded magazine for the pistol, and numerous rounds of 9mm ammunition in a bag.
In addition, officers found in the vehicle a locked box that contained thousands of fentanyl pills.
Officers also found on Zamora-Cuevas documents bearing his name and purporting to be a permanent resident card and a Social Security card.
The identification number on the permanent resident card was associated with a woman from Pakistan who had become a U.S. citizen, while the number on the Social Security card was issued to an individual born in 1863.
The investigation determined that Zamora-Cuevas is a Mexican national and not a U.S. citizen and had unlawfully re-entered the United States after having been removed in 2017.
Zamora-Cuevas, 23, pleaded guilty to being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and to illegal reentry.
He faces up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release on the firearm count.
Chief U.S. District Judge Brian Morris scheduled sentencing for June 15. Zamora-Cuevas remains in custody pending further proceedings.
