A Mexican national has pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of illegal reentry into the United States and possession of a firearm by an alien. Israel Ramirez-Jaramillo, 33, entered his plea before Chief Magistrate Judge Willie J. Epps, Jr., admitting to one count each of illegal reentry and being an alien in possession of a firearm.
According to the plea agreement, on April 20, 2025, officers from the Osage Beach Police Department responded to reports of shots fired and a domestic disturbance at an apartment building. Officers found that Ramirez-Jaramillo and his girlfriend had argued after returning from a party. Witnesses said that when a neighbor checked on the girlfriend after overhearing the argument, Ramirez-Jaramillo retrieved a firearm from his vehicle, approached the neighbor’s apartment while making threats, and fired the weapon into the air.
Police later recovered both the firearm and its loaded magazine in the toilet where Ramirez-Jaramillo was sitting.
Ramirez-Jaramillo acknowledged in his plea agreement that he was first removed from the United States on April 5, 2011, at San Ysidro, California. After being apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol near Cowlic, Arizona on April 13, 2011, his initial removal order was reinstated. He was subsequently removed again to Mexico on July 13, 2011 at Brownsville, Texas.
Federal law allows for up to 15 years in prison without parole for firearms offenses such as this one. The illegal reentry offense carries up to two years imprisonment. However, sentencing will be determined by the court based on advisory guidelines and other statutory factors following completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
“This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecily L. Hicks,” according to officials involved with the proceedings. “It was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, and Osage Beach Police Department.”
The prosecution falls under Operation Take Back America—a nationwide effort utilizing resources from the Department of Justice aimed at addressing illegal immigration issues as well as targeting cartels and transnational criminal organizations while protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators.
