Yohannes faces life-long sentence

Kiddus Yohannes, the former student who was arrested June 2007 on charges of purchasing guns illegally and unlawfully possessing his roommates debit card, was convicted on Feb. 15 and may face life in the custody of immigration officials.

Yohannes, 20, was found guilty of a third-degree felony, unlawful possession of a financial transaction card, by a jury of eight in the 4th District Court. The gun-related charges associated with the case were dropped in early January after a judge ruled the application forms used to obtain the guns were too vague.

The jury agreed that although the card had not been used while Yohannes was in possession of it, there was intent to use it, as otherwise the former UVSC student and Ethiopian refugee would have discarded it or turned it over to officials.

The judge will serve a sentence on the case in March. Because Yohannes is an international refugee, he cannot be deported to Ethiopia but still faces life in the custody of U.S. Immigration officials.