According to court documents, Huerta is a removable alien who was previously removed from the United States in 2006 and lacks lawful immigration status to be in the United States.
On July 30, 2012, Huerta submitted an application for a U.S. passport to a passport acceptance officer in Vallejo. In the application, Huerta provided a false name belonging to a real person, a false birthdate, and a false birthplace in Puerto Rico. Huerta presented a birth certificate issued for the ID theft victim and a California driver’s license bearing Huerta’s photograph and the victim’s name and birthdate.
On January 9, 2014, law enforcement agents executed search warrants at Huerta’s residence in Vallejo that he had used as his for his 2012 passport application and his California driver’s license.
During the search of the residence, agents found baggies containing methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana; two digital scales and substances that may be used in the manufacture of controlled substances; a respirator/breathing device, miscellaneous supplies such as plastic bags, rubber bands, rubber gloves, sheets of paper, and a notebook consisting of “pay-owe” sheets or ledgers. In Huerta’s bedroom closet, agents found a 9 mm semi‑automatic Sig Sauer Model P226 handgun. Next to the firearm was a Sig Sauer handgun magazine or clip loaded with seven rounds of 9 mm ammunition. There were two children living in the home.
This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and California Department of Motor Vehicles. Assistant United States Attorney Nirav Desai is prosecuting the case.
Huerta remains in custody awaiting sentencing. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Burrell on December 12, 2014. Huerta faces the following possible maximum sentences: for aggravated identity theft — two years and a $250,000 fine; for the methamphetamine-related offense — five to 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine; for the firearms offense — 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.