A Mexican national deported from the United States in 2016 is headed to federal prison after Pelham police answering a “shots fired” call found him with a handgun reported stolen in Birmingham.
U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco sentenced Federico Sanchez Alvarado, 29, to 21 months in prison, U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. of the Northern District of Alabama announced Monday. Sanchez pleaded guilty to illegal reentry after deportation and to possessing a firearm as an illegal alien.
According to his plea agreement, Sanchez was ordered removed from the country in February 2016 and deported that August.
Nine years later, on October 17, 2025, a 911 caller in Pelham reported gunfire. Officers sent to a neighborhood behind Deer Springs Road heard a series of gunshots when they arrived. Sanchez admitted he had been shooting a pistol in the backyard and agreed to show officers where the gun was inside the home.
Officers recovered a Springfield Armory XD-9 sub-compact handgun. It had been reported stolen in Birmingham two weeks earlier. Federal law bars anyone in the country illegally from possessing a firearm, and Sanchez was arrested.
“This sentence sends a clear message that those who disregard our immigration and firearms laws will be held accountable,” Williams said. “We appreciate the work of our law enforcement partners on this case. Through our strong partnerships, we will continue working together to keep our communities safe. This case is another indication of how our nation’s immigration laws have been flaunted and abused. This individual is on his second deportation, but the Department of Justice will diligently continue to enforce the laws that secure our borders.”
Ellen Johnson, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama, said the case shows the danger of repeat offenders.
“Illegal aliens who disregard our laws, in this case by reentering the country after being removed and illegally possessing a firearm, pose a serious risk to the community,” Johnson said. “HSI will continue working alongside our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners to identify and investigate individuals who threaten public safety and hold them accountable for their actions.”
The prosecution is part of Operation Take Back America, the Department of Justice initiative to “repel the invasion of illegal immigration,” eliminate cartels and protect communities from violent crime.
Alabama has seen a run of these cases. Last month, a five-day ICE operation in Marshall, Franklin, Lawrence and Colbert counties produced more than 180 arrests, including a Mexican gang member who had been deported seven times. Earlier this year, Leeds police arrested an illegal alien carrying methamphetamine and a stolen handgun during a traffic stop.
Homeland Security Investigations and the Pelham Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Woodard was the prosecutor.
Grayson Everett is the editor in chief of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270.
