ICE investigates a Honduran national for illegal possession of a firearm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A Honduran national who led police on a high-speed chase after threatening to shoot one victim and carjacking another, has been sentenced in federal court for illegally possessing a firearm.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) – Enforcement and Removal Operations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen D. Mahoney.

Jose Arevalo-Inestroza, 29, of Kansas City, Missouri, a Honduran national who is unlawfully present in the U.S., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on June 2, to five years in federal prison without parole.

On Sept. 8, 2020, Arevalo-Inestroza pleaded guilty to being an undocumented immigrant in possession of a firearm. Arevalo-Inestroza, who entered the United States without authorization from Honduras, admitted that he was in possession of a 9mm semi-automatic pistol.

According to court documents, Arevalo-Inestroza and another person, both armed, threatened an employee at an auto repair shop in Kansas City, Missouri. The employee told police the two men asked about a vehicle he had just finished working on, which they claimed belonged to one of their friends. He told them they couldn’t take the vehicle since it did not belong to them, and the battery was not working.

Arevalo-Inestroza pulled out a handgun from his waistband and pointed it at the employee, and said, “Do you think I’m a clown? Guess what? I’m gonna kill you!” The employee put his hands up, and the second man appeared with a rifle and ordered him to turn around. The employee heard three gunshots from behind, which a witness later explained as Arevalo-Inestroza firing the shots into the ground near the employee.

The two men fled with Arevalo-Inestroza driving a white van. Police officers located the van and pulled it over. When they got out of the van, Arevalo-Inestroza fled on foot and the other man resisted arrest. Officers found a loaded 9mm semi-automatic handgun next to the driver’s seat and a loaded .22-caliber rifle under the front passenger seat.

As Arevalo-Inestroza fled from the police officers, he carjacked a white pick-up truck. When officers attempted to stop the truck, Arevalo-Inestroza fled at speeds exceeding 80 miles per hour, and nearly struck at least one vehicle while weaving in and out of traffic. He abandoned the truck at I-435 and 40 Highway and again fled on foot, at which point officers arrested him.

Arevalo-Inestroza was charged in Jackson County, Missouri, with unlawful use of a weapon related to these events. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 20, 2020, was sentenced to a four-year suspended execution of sentence and was released to ICE on an immigration detainer.

Arevalo-Inestroza first entered the U.S. without authorization at an unknown location in November 2006. After serving a 30-day sentence for the misdemeanor convictions of theft and criminal damage to property in Wyandotte County, Kansas, he was removed May 17, 2018. He unlawfully reentered the U.S. sometime thereafter.

As a law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE is charged with enforcing immigration laws in a way that supports and prioritizes national security, border security and public safety. Like other national security and public safety agencies, ICE operates in an environment of limited resources, under which ICE must prioritize its enforcement and removal operations.

Members of the public who have information about foreign fugitives are urged to contact ICE by calling the ICE Tip Line at 1 (866) 347-2423 or internationally at 001-1802-872-6199. They can also file a tip online by completing ICE’s online tip form.

ICE is now implementing the interim civil immigration enforcement priorities directed by DHS to focus its limited resources on threats to national security, border security and public safety. ICE continues to carry out its duty to enforce the laws of the United States in accordance with the department’s national security and public safety mission.