Rexburg Illegal Alien Sentenced On Gun Charge

A Rexburg woman has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Laura Elena Rosales-Sanchez, a 30-year-old Mexican national, was ordered to forfeit an illegal firearm found in her possession after police responded to complaints of gunfire coming from her Rexburg apartment in November 2010. She pleaded guilty to the charge in May.

When police arrived, they discovered a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol in the apartment. Rosales-Sanchez admitted she fired the gun twice outside her apartment door in frustration. She also admitted to being in the U.S. illegally. According to her immigration records, Rosales-Sanchez was deported to Mexico in 2008.

According to a statement from the District of Idaho U.S. Attorney’s office, the case was prosecuted as part of Idaho?s “Project Safe Neighborhoods Program,” which seeks to reduce gun violence in the state.