Mexican woman pleads guilty in Kansas to possessing weapon used in homicide

WICHITA, Kan. — A Mexican woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to unlawfully possessing a firearm connected to a homicide case in central Kansas.

This guilty plea resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Azucena Garcia-Ferniza, 22, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing a firearm while unlawfully in the United States. In her plea, she admitted that on May 7, 2015, she unlawfully possessed a Glock model 30 .45-caliber pistol. Her visitor’s visa had expired in February 1998.

In July 2016, Garcia-Ferniza was sentenced in Saline County District Court to18 months’ probation for attempting to hide a gun that killed 17-year-old Allie Saum. The gun belonged to Garcia-Ferniza’s boyfriend, Macio D. Palicio Jr.  Saum was killed by gunfire when Palicio fired at a pickup he mistakenly believed was driven by rival gang members.

Palicio was convicted in Saline County District Court and sentenced to more than 50 years in prison for the killing.

Garcia-Ferniza’s sentencing is set for Jan. 4. She has been in custody since August 2015.