Manuel Najera-Garcia, a Mexican citizen and illegal alien, has been charged with federal firearm crimes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham.
A federal grand jury indicted Najera-Garcia on February 26, 2025, on one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on March 26, 2025, and was ordered detained.
According to the indictment, Najera-Garcia possessed a .38-caliber revolver on December 22, 2024, despite having a 2012 felony conviction. After his felony conviction, Najera-Garcia returned to Mexico and then allegedly re-entered the United States prior to possessing the firearm.
If convicted, Najera-Garcia faces up to 15 years in federal prison on each count.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Hocter is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime.
The operation utilizes resources from the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
