Marana man sentenced to 57 months for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon following HSI, multiple law enforcement agencies investigation
TUCSON, Ariz. – A southern Arizona man was sentenced May 20, to 57 months in federal prison for possessing ammunition as a prohibited person following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) alongside DEA, FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Tyrell Kester, 36, of Marana, Arizona, will also be on supervised release upon conclusion of his prison sentencing. Kester previously pleaded guilty to possession of ammunition by a prohibited person.
“The safety of our citizens and communities is a top priority which HSI takes seriously,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for HSI Phoenix. “The investigative efforts of our agents in this case, working with their law enforcement partners, resulted in a nearly 5 year prison sentence by this convicted felon and seizure of his illegally possessed ammunition.”
On April 22, 2021, federal agents and Tucson Police Department officers conducted surveillance on a residential trailer in preparation to execute a search warrant. Kester parked his car near the trailer and when agents announced their presence, Kester threw several items from his pockets onto the ground, including his car keys and $3,587 in cash. Agents searched Kester’s car and found an AR-type rifle magazine loaded with 25 rounds of .223-caliber ammunition and other loose rounds of ammunition in various calibers in the trunk. Kester is a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing ammunition.
This investigation was a collaborative effort between federal law enforcement agencies and is part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCEDTF) initiative in Southern Arizona that is being led by the Tucson Strike Force.
Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Culver and David Petermann, District of Arizona, Tucson, handled the prosecution.
HSI is a directorate of ICE and 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 over 10,400 employees consists of more than 7,100 special agents assigned to 220 cities throughout the United States, and 80 overseas locations in 53 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.
Learn more about how HSI Arizona keeps communities safer at @HSIPhoenix.
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