Colorado sheriff's deputy fired, convicted of giving a firearm to a convicted felon

An Arapahoe County sheriff's deputy has been fired after being convicted of giving his brother-in-law, a convicted felon, a firearm. Now that former deputy is a convicted felon himself, after a federal jury trial.

Johnny Alvarado, 33, of Lakewood, was unanimously convicted by a federal jury on Monday of providing a firearm to a felon. His brother-in-law, Kyle Garcia, was a felon on supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Colorado. When his probation officer visited his home, that officer noticed a firearm in a closet.

It was later determined to be a loaded Sig Sauer P365 9mm handgun. That was in April of 2023, according to a federal indictment. 

Garcia pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 66 months of probation. Court records show a number of convictions over the past decade or so for attempted robbery, DUI, drugs and more.

Alvarado has not yet been sentenced in his case. A message was left at the law firm representing Alvarado seeking comment for this story.

The Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said Alvarado has been terminated. He was initially suspended with pay on May 12, 2023, after the ATF's Denver office notified the sheriff's office of the investigation and then suspended without pay on May 19, 2023, after he was arrested by the U.S. Marshal Service. He's been employed by the sheriff's office since Dec. 30, 2021.