Illegal Immigrant Arrested in Vermont with Loaded Gun and Ammunition
Julio Cesar Romero-Paredes, a 46-year-old Venezuelan national, has been charged with illegal firearm possession and reentry into the United States after being deported, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced.
The charges stem from an incident on November 7, 2024, when Romero-Paredes illegally entered the U.S. near the Haskell Library in Derby Line, Vermont, bypassing border barriers. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from nearby ports of entry assisted in tracking the distinctive motorcycle, which had entered Interstate 91 southbound. The vehicle was later located near Exit 28 on I-91, where a traffic stop was conducted.
Romero-Paredes, the driver of the motorcycle, was taken into custody. An inventory search of the motorcycle revealed a fully loaded Walther Model P22 .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol, along with five additional magazines containing about 50 rounds of .22 caliber ammunition. Also found were two Glock magazines holding roughly 30 rounds of 9mm ammunition and a suspected suppressor.
Romero-Paredes had originally entered the U.S. in 2005 on a visitor’s visa. However, immigration records show that he was ordered to be removed from the country by an immigration judge in March 2022 in Dallas, Texas.
The complaint only contains allegations, and Romero-Paredes is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison for the firearm charge and up to two years for the immigration charge.
