Evergreen Reporter

Jacksonville, Florida – United States District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Edgar Diaz Aquino, 20, of Jacksonville, to 24 months in federal prison for being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. Aquino pleaded guilty to the offense on March 28, 2024. Following his prison sentence, Aquino will be deported from the United States.

According to court documents, on November 16, 2023, Aquino was involved in an altercation with his girlfriend. During the incident, he retrieved a Glock pistol with an extended magazine and discharged it five feet away from his girlfriend’s feet. When arrested by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers, he admitted to possessing the firearm. Aquino was illegally present in the United States and acknowledged that he was a Honduran national who crossed into the United States through Mexico on April 2, 2019. Federal law prohibits illegal aliens from possessing firearms.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro.

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