A Lawton man with a previous domestic violence conviction has been sentenced to a seven-year federal prison stint for the illegal possession of firearms. The U.S. Attorney's Office in the Western District of Oklahoma has confirmed Raymond Ivan Munoz, 22, received an 84-month sentence, as detailed in an official release.
Munoz's run-ins with the law were numerous, with a notable incident on February 14, 2023, involving him being discovered unconscious and drugged in a vehicle's front seat, clutching an AK-47, as disclosed by public records. Driving with a suspended license and active warrants on May 10, 2024, officers recognized Munoz from a social media post where he showed off a firearm. He then led the police on a high-speed chase, which was described by public records to have exceeded 100 miles per hour.
Following this eventful pursuit, which saw Munoz taking refuge in his home for some hours before being apprehended, law enforcement conducted a search of his property. Two firearms were uncovered, discreetly hidden within the confines of a bathroom. These transgressions culminated in a plea of guilty to one count of the indictment, particularly the accusation of firearm possession after a domestic violence conviction, a plea Munoz submitted on February 7, according to the Justice Department.
In the act of sentencing on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge David L. Russell imposed the seven-year prison term that would be supplemented by three years of supervised release. The decision emphasized Munoz's potential threat to public safety, remarking on the "necessity of a substantial sentence to protect the public," as quoted in the Justice Department's statement.
This case was driven by the combined investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center Police Department, and the Lawton Police Department. The prosecution of the case was led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Danielle M. Connolly. Moreover, it ties into the larger initiative of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) and "Operation 922," which the Western District of Oklahoma has undertaken to intensify the federal prosecution of crimes linked to domestic violence.
