A Mexican national residing illegally in the United States has pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including drug, firearm, and immigration offenses in the District of Utah. Kevin Enrique Sanchez-Carrillo, 25, originally from Mexico and living in Draper, Utah, was indicted on April 8, 2025. By May 20 of the same year, a felony information charged him with possessing heroin with intent to distribute, being an alien in possession of a firearm, evading immigration examination or inspection, and failing to register.
Court documents and statements during Sanchez-Carrillo’s plea hearing revealed that law enforcement executed search warrants at his apartment and vehicle on April 3, 2025. They found over 100 grams of heroin confirmed by field tests, a Smith & Wesson 9MM handgun along with ammunition, and $7,750 in cash. Sanchez-Carrillo admitted he possessed the heroin for distribution purposes and acknowledged he was unlawfully carrying a firearm affecting interstate commerce due to his illegal status.
Further court documents indicate that Sanchez-Carrillo entered the U.S. after December 14, 2023. He avoided immigration checks until his arrest on April 3, 2025. He also confessed to not applying for registration despite staying illegally for over a month before being apprehended by immigration officers in Salt Lake County.
Sentencing is set for September 4 at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in Salt Lake City before a U.S. District Court Judge.
The announcement came from Acting United States Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah. The FBI’s Salt Lake City Field Office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Removal Operations (ICE-ERO) are jointly investigating this case while it is prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah.
This case forms part of Operation Take Back America—a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating illegal immigration and dismantling criminal organizations threatening community safety through coordinated efforts like those from Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
