Venezuelan Man Pleads Guilty to Gun and Immigration Charges After Illegal Crossing at Haskell Library

An illegal immigrant from Venezuela, who possessed a loaded .22-caliber semiautomatic and a silencer without a serial number while sneaking across the international border at the Haskell Library and Opera House in Derby Line, has pleaded guilty in federal court to gun and immigration charges. Julio Paredes, 46, will continue to be detained pending his sentencing in U.S. District Court in Rutland on Aug. 27. Paredes admitted in court last week that he drove a Georgia-registered motorcycle around the barriers outside the historic library about 12:50 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2024, and tried to avoid legal reporting to enter the country, records show. He also admitted in court to unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien after being ordered removed from the United States. He was caught as the Border Patrol was involved in another illicit border crossing case nearby at the time. Records show that he asked Customs and Border Protection Officers for help intercepting the motorcycle. CBP was able to stop the motorcycle about five miles south of the Canadian border and found the driver, Paredes, was carrying the handgun with a bullet in the chamber and a fully loaded magazine, officials said. They said there was also a silencer that could be threaded onto the barrel of the firearm. The federal agents also found multiple knives, a collapsible steel baton, several handcuff keys, zip ties, and three cell phones on the motorcycle. When sentenced this summer, Paredes faces up to 15 ½ years in prison, up to 3 years of federal supervised release, and up to $255,000 in fines for the two convictions.