SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
Egyptian man sentenced on weapons charge in Las Cruces
Faces deportation after 18-month sentence
Published
Modified
LAS CRUCES 鈥� An Egyptian national who had overstayed his tourist visa has been sentenced to prison and likely deportation after a 2025 confrontation at a gas station on the city鈥檚 El Paseo corridor.
Moustafa Mahmoud Abdelnabi Salem, 29, pleaded guilty in September to possessing a firearm while he was unlawfully present in the U.S. At his sentencing hearing before federal District Judge Sarah Davenport on Wednesday, he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, with no possibility of parole in the federal system.
鈥淯pon his release from prison, he will be subject to deportation,鈥� the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office stated in a news release.
According to the criminal complaint, Las Cruces police responded to a report of assault at a gas station on El Paseo Drive on May 12. The caller reported that during an interaction at the station, Salem retrieved a handgun from his car, chambered a round and pointed it directly at the caller.
Salem allegedly told police that the other individual had threatened him with a knife. He admitted to possessing a gun but denied pointing it at anyone. However, the U.S. Attorney鈥檚 Office said, 鈥淭he incident was captured by (closed-circuit television) footage from the gas station in which Salem appears to be the aggressor.鈥�
Salem did not give police consent to retrieve the firearm from the vehicle or provide information on where he obtained the weapon, the complaint states. Salem鈥檚 vehicle was towed until a search warrant was obtained, recovering a 9mm handgun that had one round in the chamber and a magazine with nine more rounds, the complaint states without mentioning whether it had been reported stolen.
Federal records showed that Salem entered the U.S. most recently in 2024 on a nonimmigrant B-2 visa for nonbusiness travel issued in 2022.
Without admitting to assault, Salem stated in a plea agreement that he was not legally present in the U.S. and possessed the gun.
Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
