Hot Springs – A Glenwood man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for a felon in possession of a firearm charge. The individual was also involved in a school lockdown at Caddo Hills in 2017.
According to a statement released by David Clay Fowlkes, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, Jacob Anzaldua, age 39, of Glenwood, Arkansas, was sentenced this week to 180 months in federal prison followed by five years of supervised release for one count of being a Felon In Possession of a Firearm. The Honorable Chief Judge Susan O. Hickey presided over the sentencing hearing in the United States District Court in Hot Springs.
The charge resulted from an incident that occurred May 4, 2018 at around 3 a.m. in Glenwood. The statement states that Anzaldua broke into the John Plylar’s Home Center located in Glenwood where he was captured on surveillance footage. He could be seen on the video operating a distinct 1998 Ford pick-up truck.
On or about May 5, 2018, around 9 p.m., a Special Agent with the Arkansas State Police observed the 1998 Ford pick-up truck operated by Anzaldua and attempted to stop it. Anzaldua fled the scene. Ultimately, Anzaldua’s vehicle underwent a mechanical failure and came to a stop in Garland County. Anzaldua was placed under arrest and his vehicle was searched. The search resulted in officers locating a loaded defaced handgun behind the center console.
Anzaldua was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2019, and entered a guilty plea in October of 2019.
This case was prosecuted as a part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods Initiative, which is aimed at reducing gun and gang violence, deterring illegal possession of firearms and improving the safety of residents in the Western District of Arkansas. Participants in the initiative include federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
This case was investigated by the Arkansas State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Fire, Tobacco, and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Bryan Achorn and Special Assistant United States Attorney (SAUSA) Trent Daniels prosecuted the case for the United States.
Anzaldua was arrested in Montgomery County after his presence on the Caddo Hills School District campus caused a brief lockdown. According to a statement released by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Anzaldua was arrested after being identified as someone wanted in Texas. County documents state that School Resource Officer Stacy Watson spotted a suspicious person on the campus of Caddo Hills School. The subject was identified as Jacob Anzaldua. He left campus shortly after Watson spoke to him. Watson discovered that Anzaldua was wanted in Texas and was considered to by armed and dangerous.
The sheriff’s office devised a plan to apprehend Anzaldua off campus, however when he was spotted near the bus loading area Sheriff David White made the decision to take him into custody on campus.
At this time school authorities were notified and the school was placed in lockdown.
Officers located Anzaldua in a parking lot behind the school and was apprehended without incident. Anzaldua was reported to have no direct ties to the Caddo Hills School. No charges were filed in the incident.
