HSI, law enforcement partner investigation lands Nebraska man in prison for 5 years for stealing firearms

OMAHA, Neb. – Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Kansas City Taekuk Cho and Acting United States Attorney Susan T. Lehr announced that Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Joshua Thomas Alan Casiano, 36, of Kearney, Nebraska, on July 10, 2023 to five years’ imprisonment for possession of stolen firearms, following an HSI, law enforcement partner investigation.

Casiano was also sentenced to a three-year term of supervised release to be served after he completes his prison sentence. There is no parole in the federal system. Casiano pleaded guilty to the offense on March 21, 2023.

Police discovered that a residence in Phelps County, Nebraska, was burglarized on April 13, 2021. Fourteen firearms were stolen during the burglary. A witness subsequently came forward and told police that Casiano said he wanted to acquire firearms by committing a burglary. Casiano learned that the residence in Phelps County contained several firearms. Casiano left the night of the burglary and then returned later with what the witness estimated to be around a dozen firearms, most of which were later sold to two other persons. Once police learned of the sale, they obtained a warrant to search the home of the buyers. Most of the stolen firearms were recovered during that search with the remainder recovered several days later. To date, law enforcement has recovered all the stolen firearms. 

HSI, FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Kearney Police Department, and the Phelps County Sheriff’s Office all contributed to this investigation.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

To learn more about our mission to counter illegal firearms in the community, follow @HSIKansasCity.