HOUSTON – A 24-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison for aiding and abetting a robbery and unlawful possession of firearm.
Felipe Ortuno pleaded guilty March 31.
U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr. has now handed Ortuno a 240-month term of imprisonment for the robbery and an additional 120 months for the firearm charge. The court ordered the sentences to run consecutively, resulting in a total 360-month prison term to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release.
On Oct. 31, 2019, Ortuno and others robbed a Houston-area stash house and held two women at gunpoint, forcing them to lie face down.
The owner of the stash house returned during the robbery, and the group attacked him. He sustained a gunshot wound during the altercation and later died from his injuries.
Surveillance showed Ortuno and his accomplices committing the robbery.
Ortuno will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anh-Khoa Tran and Anthony Franklyn prosecuted the case.
Project Safe Neighborhoods is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Southern District of Texas — U.S. Department of Justice press release.