Man arrested by federal agents charged with 'possession of a firearm while being an illegal alien'
A criminal case was unsealed June 11 against Herber Tzoy-Tzoy, who appeared in federal court the same day for a charge of possessing a gun while being illegally in the United States.
Tzoy was initially arrested by Milwaukee Police in September 2024 for driving under the influence and possession of a handgun.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms took the case on in December and arrested Tzoy at his apartment on South 22nd Street on June 10. He is now in custody of the Kenosha County Sheriff.
Magistrate Judge William Duffin didn't approve bail for Tzoy at his federal court hearing on June 11.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's previous report regarding Tzoy's arrest named his alias, Mario Torres.
Tzoy crashed a Dodge pickup truck into parked cars along West Burnham Street in September. His blood alcohol concentration was more than twice the legal limit, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene records showed.
An officer found a handgun and five empty beer bottles on the driver's side floorboard, the federal criminal report says.
According to the charges, a Guatemalan identification card with the name Eliseo Us-Ixcotoyac was found by officers. Tzoy told officers that was his "fake name" for work. Tzoy confirmed his name with his Guatemalan birth certificate at his November municipal court hearing.
Department of Homeland Security doesn't have records of Tzoy entering the U.S. legally, federal prosecutors say.
An arrest warrant was issued for Tzoy on March 17 after he didn't appear in Milwaukee County Court that day for those charges.
Voces De La Frontera and Diego Castro, Tzoy's brother-in-law, say U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took Tzoy into custody on June 10.
Castro, who lives in a neighboring unit, said about 10 or 15 agents with the bottom half of their faces covered pounded on all four units in the apartment building. The agents said they had a warrant for Castro's wife's name, too, he said.
The U.S. Marshal's office confirmed about 10 agents were knocking on doors of Tzoy's neighbors as the agency typically does in such cases, said Scott Keller, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The agency was only there to assist in the arrest of that man.
He said he could not speak for the size of other agencies' response.
'To say that's a large response, that would be false,' Keller said. "It shouldn't be characterized as a heavy response, simply because this is our normal operations.'
The agency assisted in multiple arrests across the city on June 10, Keller said.
Tzoy's attorney Joshua Uller wouldn't confirm if ICE was involved in Tzoy's arrest.
Tzoy's next court date is June 24 at 3:30 p.m.
Gina Castro is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be reached at gcastro@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Federal agency charges immigrant with possession of a firearm
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
an hour ago
Guatemalan town struggles to recover after border shootout
LA MESILLA, Guatemala -- Nearly two months after Mexican police crossed the border into this Guatemalan town in pursuit of alleged criminals, La Mesilla hasn't fully recovered. Like many remote border towns, it lives from commerce — legal and illegal — but locals say things still haven't returned to normal since Mexican state police drove armored vehicles into the downtown and engaged in a daytime shootout in June. On Wednesday, more than 600 Guatemalan police and soldiers carried out nearly two dozen raids in the surrounding areas, but managed to seize only two guns without making an arrest, according to the Interior Ministry. A criminal organization tied to Mexico's powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel controls the area, making locals reluctant to talk. A man who sells clothing in La Mesilla said that when he saw the shootout, he used the border much like the criminals do. 'I ran, left everything; it didn't matter, I ran to the Mexican side,' he said. 'We were afraid. When we saw that everything was alright, we returned, we grabbed everything and left.' That's similar to what led to the shootout on La Mesilla's main drag steps from the border. Mexican police chased suspects they had engaged with in Mexico who fled into Guatemala. 'People want to forget what happened, but there's still fear,' the young man said. The incident was similar to another border escape a year earlier when hundreds of Mexican citizens fled into Guatemala to escape the violence sparked by the competition to control border crossings between the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels. Some of those Mexicans spent months in Guatemala as refugees. The cartels want to control the crossing of drugs, migrants and guns. Another vendor said sales still hadn't returned to normal. 'That Sunday (of the shootout) was the market day, there were a lot of people,' he said. 'Today we feel safer because there are more police, but sales haven't recovered.' The organization that authorities targeted Wednesday had been led by a father-son duo, who were both killed previously in a clash with Mexican police. Guatemala's Interior Ministry said Wednesday's operation was carried out in coordination with Mexico to attempt to keep the targets from escaping across the border. It was unknown where they had gone. Lusvin López, chief of the National Civil Police antidrug unit, said Wednesday's operation was in response the shootout in June. The United States government also provided support, according to the Interior Ministry, which didn't provide details.
San Francisco Chronicle
5 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Guatemalan town struggles to recover after border shootout
LA MESILLA, Guatemala (AP) — Nearly two months after Mexican police crossed the border into this Guatemalan town in pursuit of alleged criminals, La Mesilla hasn't fully recovered. Like many remote border towns, it lives from commerce — legal and illegal — but locals say things still haven't returned to normal since Mexican state police drove armored vehicles into the downtown and engaged in a daytime shootout in June. On Wednesday, more than 600 Guatemalan police and soldiers carried out nearly two dozen raids in the surrounding areas, but managed to seize only two guns without making an arrest, according to the Interior Ministry. A criminal organization tied to Mexico's powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel controls the area, making locals reluctant to talk. A man who sells clothing in La Mesilla said that when he saw the shootout, he used the border much like the criminals do. 'I ran, left everything; it didn't matter, I ran to the Mexican side,' he said. 'We were afraid. When we saw that everything was alright, we returned, we grabbed everything and left.' That's similar to what led to the shootout on La Mesilla's main drag steps from the border. Mexican police chased suspects they had engaged with in Mexico who fled into Guatemala. 'People want to forget what happened, but there's still fear,' the young man said. The incident was similar to another border escape a year earlier when hundreds of Mexican citizens fled into Guatemala to escape the violence sparked by the competition to control border crossings between the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels. Some of those Mexicans spent months in Guatemala as refugees. The cartels want to control the crossing of drugs, migrants and guns. Another vendor said sales still hadn't returned to normal. 'That Sunday (of the shootout) was the market day, there were a lot of people,' he said. 'Today we feel safer because there are more police, but sales haven't recovered.' The organization that authorities targeted Wednesday had been led by a father-son duo, who were both killed previously in a clash with Mexican police. Guatemala's Interior Ministry said Wednesday's operation was carried out in coordination with Mexico to attempt to keep the targets from escaping across the border. It was unknown where they had gone. Lusvin López, chief of the National Civil Police antidrug unit, said Wednesday's operation was in response the shootout in June. The United States government also provided support, according to the Interior Ministry, which didn't provide details.
Hamilton Spectator
5 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Guatemalan town struggles to recover after border shootout
LA MESILLA, Guatemala (AP) — Nearly two months after Mexican police crossed the border into this Guatemalan town in pursuit of alleged criminals, La Mesilla hasn't fully recovered. Like many remote border towns, it lives from commerce — legal and illegal — but locals say things still haven't returned to normal since Mexican state police drove armored vehicles into the downtown and engaged in a daytime shootout in June. On Wednesday, more than 600 Guatemalan police and soldiers carried out nearly two dozen raids in the surrounding areas, but managed to seize only two guns without making an arrest, according to the Interior Ministry. A criminal organization tied to Mexico's powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel controls the area, making locals reluctant to talk. A man who sells clothing in La Mesilla said that when he saw the shootout, he used the border much like the criminals do. 'I ran, left everything; it didn't matter, I ran to the Mexican side,' he said. 'We were afraid. When we saw that everything was alright, we returned, we grabbed everything and left.' That's similar to what led to the shootout on La Mesilla's main drag steps from the border. Mexican police chased suspects they had engaged with in Mexico who fled into Guatemala. 'People want to forget what happened, but there's still fear,' the young man said. The incident was similar to another border escape a year earlier when hundreds of Mexican citizens fled into Guatemala to escape the violence sparked by the competition to control border crossings between the Jalisco and Sinaloa cartels . Some of those Mexicans spent months in Guatemala as refugees. The cartels want to control the crossing of drugs, migrants and guns . Another vendor said sales still hadn't returned to normal. 'That Sunday (of the shootout) was the market day, there were a lot of people,' he said. 'Today we feel safer because there are more police, but sales haven't recovered.' The organization that authorities targeted Wednesday had been led by a father-son duo, who were both killed previously in a clash with Mexican police. Guatemala's Interior Ministry said Wednesday's operation was carried out in coordination with Mexico to attempt to keep the targets from escaping across the border. It was unknown where they had gone. Lusvin López, chief of the National Civil Police antidrug unit, said Wednesday's operation was in response the shootout in June. The United States government also provided support, according to the Interior Ministry, which didn't provide details. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
