From the U.S. Attorney:
FEDERAL INDICTMENT CHARGES FOREIGN NATIONAL WITH ILLEGALLY POSSESSING FIREARM IN CHICAGO; GUN USED TO FIRE SHOTS NEAR BORDER PATROL AGENTS DURING OPERATION MIDWAY BLITZ
CHICAGO — A foreign national has been indicted on federal firearm charges for allegedly illegally possessing a loaded handgun in Chicago last year.
HECTOR GOMEZ is charged with
- one count of illegal possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon and
- one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a foreign national who has no claim to United States citizenship or lawful permanent residence.
The indictment accuses Gomez of brandishing a firearm at a victim on the afternoon of Nov. 8, 2025.
Shortly thereafter, Chicago Police Officers found a handgun in Gomez’s lap as he sat in the driver’s seat of a black Jeep Wrangler in a parking lot in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, the indictment states.
Five hours earlier, at least two rounds were discharged from the same gun about two blocks from the parking lot, the indictment states.
The rounds were fired in proximity of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agents who were engaged in the performance of their official duties, the indictment states.
Gomez, 45, is a citizen of Mexico who had been residing in Chicago.
He had previously been convicted of a felony and was removed from the United States on at least four separate occasions from 2008 to 2015.
The indictment was returned on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 12, 2026, at 1:15 p.m., before U.S. District Judge Matthew F. Kennelly. Gomez is currently detained in federal custody without bond.
The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The Chicago Police Department provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill J. Bhalakia.
Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods, the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the District, particularly firearm offenses.
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Each count in the indictment is punishable by up to ten years in federal prison. If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
