Illegal alien charged with firearm offenses

A federal criminal complaint and arrest warrant was issued last week in federal court in Paducah charging an illegal alien with aggravated identity theft, making a false statement during a firearm transaction, and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. 
 
According to court records, on or about November 11, 2024, 25-year-old Manuel Antonio Xante-Ajanel, a citizen of Guatemala, attempted to purchase a firearm from Academy Sports in Paducah using fraudulent identification belonging to another person. 

A search warrant was executed on January 31st at the defendant’s residence in Mayfield. Law enforcement located numerous fraudulent identification documents. 

Later that day, a search warrant was executed on the defendant’s vehicle, yielding a loaded 9-millimeter handgun. The defendant admitted to possessing the firearm and to being in the United States unlawfully.    
 
Homeland Security Investigations verified that Xante-Ajanelentered the United States illegally. 
 
Xante-Ajanel is in state custody and will make an initial appearance before a US Magistrate Judge in the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at a later date. 

If convicted on the charges in the complaint, Xante-Ajanel faces a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum sentence of 12 years in prison. 

There is no parole in the federal system.