TYLER, Texas – Tomas Ocampo-Mondragon, 37, a Mexican national illegally residing in Tyler, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker on July 10, 2025. Ocampo-Mondragon pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm, Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs announced.
The sentencing follows Ocampo-Mondragon's arrest on August 5, 2024, when he was stopped for a traffic violation in Smith County. During the stop, he was found to be intoxicated and arrested. A loaded firearm was discovered in his pocket.
Further investigation revealed Ocampo-Mondragon is a citizen of Mexico who had been previously found unlawfully present in the United States on September 14, 2019, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. He was also in possession of a firearm during that encounter. He voluntarily returned to Mexico on January 3, 2020, and did not have permission to re-enter the United States.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration, dismantling cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. The operation integrates efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Department of Homeland Security, the Smith County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Noble prosecuted the case.
