Hattiesburg, Miss. – Gregorio Xolotl-Hipolito, 42, an illegal alien from Mexico, pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Keith Starrett to possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Mr. William Joyce, Acting Field Office Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, in New Orleans. 

Xolotl-Hipolito will be sentenced by Judge Starrett on January 9, 2020, at 10:00 a.m.  He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release and a maximum $250,000 fine. He also faces being removed from the United States to his home nation of Mexico, following the completion of any prison sentence.

On June 24, 2019, while conducting Criminal Alien Program duties at the Forrest County Adult Detention Center, an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent encountered Xolotl-Hipolito, who had been arrested by Hattiesburg Police for possession of a stolen firearm and driving while consuming alcohol.  When stopped by police, Xolotl-Hipolito had no driver’s license and only a Tennessee ID card.  A .22 caliber pistol was found in plain view next to Xolotl-Hipolito in the vehicle.   Police also found .22 ammunition in Xolotl-Hipolito’s pocket as well as elsewhere in the vehicle.  Additionally, police determined that the pistol had been reported as stolen.

Local officials notified ICE, and Xolotl-Hipolito was identified as an illegal alien from Mexico who had been previously removed from the United States.  Records revealed that, in 2011, an Immigration Judge ordered Xolotl-Hipolito removed from the U.S.  Records also documented that Xolotl-Hipolito illegally reentered the U.S. and was removed four additional times.

U.S. Attorney Hurst praised the cooperation of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration & Customs Enforcement, Enforcement Removal Operations, the Hattiesburg Police Department and the Forrest County Sheriff’s Department.  Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.