KRWG News – LAS CRUCES, N.M. (KRWG) A southern New Mexico man has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating federal law by possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun.
Bayard resident Christopher Berumen has been in federal custody since his arrest last October.
U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales announced the sentencing on Tuesday. The 24-year-old Berumen was stopped by Bayard police for a traffic violation and he told the officer there was shotgun in the trunk of the car.
The barrel on the 12-gauge shotgun was not quite 14 inches long and the gun's serial number had been removed.
It's against federal law to possess a sawed-off shotgun, which has a barrel length less than 18 inches, unless a person has the weapon registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. KRWG