Criminal Alien of the Week Report May, 29 2024
Lars Larson Show: Criminal Alien of the Week Report
May 29, 2024
The “Lars Larson Show: Criminal Alien of the Week Report” in the last week of May 2024 has for your radio listeners and webpage followers a report on a 48-year-old Brazilian national, unlawfully present in the country, charged, convicted and sentenced for firearms related crimes in a U.S. District Court in the state of Washington.
Some background information, on Friday, May 17, 2024 the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington (USAOWDW), issued a news release titled “Vancouver, Washington man sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison for illegally acquiring arsenal of guns, ammo and silencer” who the subject of interest was identified as Joao Ricardo DeBorba (U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington Case Numbers: 3:22-MJ-05067-DWC; 3:22-CR-05139-DGE):
Here is an extended excerpt from USAOWDW’s May 17th news release on Joao Ricardo DeBorba:
“Defendant in U.S without status, falsified documents and lied about citizenship; violated court orders related to history of domestic violence
Tacoma – A Brazilian National with multiple convictions for domestic violence assault, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 30 months in prison for federal felonies charging illegal possession of firearms, lying in connection with the purchase of firearms, falsely claiming U.S. citizenship, and unlawful possession of a firearm silencer, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Joao Ricardo DeBorba, 48, of Vancouver, Washington, has been detained at the Federal Detention Center at SeaTac since he was convicted at a bench trial in February 2024. He was sentenced today by Chief Judge David G. Estudillo.
According to records filed in the case, DeBorba entered the United States on a tourist visa in 1999. DeBorba overstayed the visa and falsified documents to work in the U.S. and to acquire firearms. In April 2019, while purchasing firearms in Portland and Lebanon, Oregon, and Lacey, Washington, DeBorba entered false information on government forms stating he was a U.S. citizen. Shortly after the first three gun purchases, DeBorba was arrested for drunken driving and was found to have a Glock pistol.
Despite that arrest, DeBorba continued to purchase firearms: a rifle in Gresham, Oregon, and a revolver in Vancouver, Washington, again providing false information about his citizenship on required forms.
In November 2019, DeBorba was arrested for domestic violence assault. DeBorba was served with a “No Contact” order and was instructed to surrender all of his firearms. On November 16, 2019, DeBorba was arrested for violating the no contact order and 20 firearms were seized from his residence.
In January 2022, DeBorba was convicted in a second case of domestic violence assault. He was again informed that he could not possess firearms.
When law enforcement served a search warrant at DeBorba’s residence, agents seized five firearms: three AR-15 style rifles with no serial numbers or manufacturers marks and two handguns – one without any serial number or manufacturers mark. The firearms, so-called “ghost guns,” appear to have been manufactured from parts ordered online.
In addition to the guns, DeBorba had a large amount of ammunition, a workbench with firearms parts and tools, firearms silencers, magazines, and various gun cases.
In asking the court for a five-year prison term, Assistant United States Attorney Max Shiner wrote to the court, “following his first reported domestic violence incident, DeBorba’s conduct only became more troubling. He increased his threatening conduct toward his wife. He threatened his roommates, who feared him because they knew he was accustomed to carrying a rifle with him. Despite having firearms seized from him, he replenished his cache of weapons and ammo, and began to obtain ghost guns as well as a firearm silencer, a highly restricted weapon under federal law.”
The case was investigated by the FBI, with assistance from the Vancouver Police Department, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms & Explosives (ATF), and the Social Security Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG) ” – U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington
An important fact to understand, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), through ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) take on important roles in managing the federal government’s enforcement of the nations immigrations laws.
Seeking detailed information on the historical immigration status of Joao Ricardo DeBorba on Tuesday, May 28, 2024 the “Criminal Alien of the Week Report” contacted via e-mail U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Public Affairs for the Northwest Region which encompasses the states of Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
Here are questions the “Criminal Alien of the Week Report” submitted to ICE Public Affairs concerning the immigration status of Joao Ricardo DeBorba:
Is Joao Ricardo DeBorba currently illegally present in the United States?
Has ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) lodged and immigration detainer on Joao Ricardo DeBorba at any time he has been or was the custodial responsibility of the U.S. Marshals Service (USM) or the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP)?
How many times if any has Joao Ricardo DeBorba been previously removed from the country by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)?
Can ICE Public Affairs’ confirm if Joao Ricardo DeBorba’s country of origin is actually Brazil?
Has Joao Ricardo DeBorba, to name a location, ever been or is he in the custody of the Northwest ICE Processing Center (NWIPC) in Tacoma, Washington?
On same day, May 28, 2024 ICE Public Affairs for the Northwest Region responded in the following way on the immigration status of Joao Ricardo DeBorba:
“The news release on this person answers several of your questions. Whether he was held at NWIPC or previously removed will not enhance the reporting. We will not be taking further action on this query.” – ICE Public Affairs Spokesperson.
Joao Ricardo DeBorba’s conviction and sentencing in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington for unlawful firearms purchase and possession means he will likely join more than 23-thousand Criminal Aliens incarcerated in the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) prison system.
Lars, the last week of May 2024 and another “Criminal Alien of the Week Report” for Lars Larson Show KXL FM 101.1 Pacific Northwest radio listeners and website followers.
David Olen Cross (docfnc) is a reporter on foreign national crime. He is a more than decade long contributor to the “Lars Larson Show: Criminal Alien of the Week Report.” His past crime reporting can be found at http://docfnc.wordpress.com/.
https://docfnc.wordpress.com/