A Guatemalan national and Houston resident was handed down a sentence exceeding 15 years for a string of armed robberies, U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced. Josue Castro-Gomez, 29, a legal permanent resident, faced the U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks Jr., who gave him 98 months for the robberies and an additional 84 months for firearms charges, as per a statement obtained from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Following his 182-month imprisonment, Castro-Gomez will likely be removed from the United States.
The U.S. Attorney's Office detailed how Castro-Gomez, on separate occasions in late 2023, preyed upon a gas station and smoke shop, initially feigning as a customer before turning the tables with a firearm. On Nov. 25, he reportedly stormed into a Korner Food Mart, fired his gun above a clerk's head, and attempted a heist, although he left empty-handed. Success followed in subsequent robberies at a Circle K and Vape City on Dec. 11 and 12, where he managed to take undisclosed sums of money and flee. A link to evidence from these crimes led to Castro-Gomez's capture on Dec. 12 when he was found with a .32 caliber handgun.
The connection between the shell casing from the November robbery and the firearm found in Castro-Gomez’s possession was made clear thanks to the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), demonstrating the value of this unique crime-solving network. As outlined in an official press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office, NIBIN's capacity to match ballistic evidence across different crime scenes plays a crucial role in the disruption of violent criminal activities involving guns. Castro-Gomez's past convictions, which include unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and possession of a controlled substance from 2015 and 2017, further barred him from legal possession of firearms or ammunition.
The investigations leading to Castro-Gomez's sentencing were a combined effort from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Houston Police Department, and the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Francisco J. Rodriguez prosecuting. Currently, Castro-Gomez awaits transfer to an as-yet-undetermined Federal Bureau of Prisons facility, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
