A convicted felon was sentenced to prison Friday for obtaining weapons to allegedly shoot rival gang members in Ventura County.
The suspect, Jose Alcaraz Guerrero, 34, also known as “Kruz,” was sentenced to five years in federal prison, according to the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office.
Guerrero pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition on March 24.
Authorities said Guerrero is a convicted killer who, with a loaded firearm, threatened to “shoot rival gang members at a public park in Ventura County despite the presence of children.”
Guerrero was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to a 2011 voluntary manslaughter conviction. He served nine years in state prison for the conviction before being paroled in early 2020.
He later admitted that he had illegally possessed a firearm and ammunition while at Moranda Park in Port Hueneme in May 2020. He was in illegal possession of another firearm in June 2020 as well, officials said.
When asked why he had a loaded firearm at a public park, Guerrero said it was intended “to shoot at rival gang members, notwithstanding the presence of innocent civilians who would be caught in the crossfire,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memorandum.
Guerrero has been in federal custody since July 2022.
Multiple agencies investigated the case including the FBI, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, the Port Hueneme Police Department, and the Oxnard Police Department.
