Pedro Ortiz-romo Sentenced in U.S. District Court
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on February 25, 2009, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, PEDRO ORTIZ-ROMO, a 38-year-old citizen of Mexico, appeared for sentencing. ORTIZ-ROMO was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 41 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 3 years
ORTIZ-ROMO was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to illegal reentry of a previously deported alien.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On May 3, 2008, an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned that a Montana Highway Patrol trooper had conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle near Forsyth. The passenger of the vehicle was identified as ORTIZ-ROMO. When his fingerprints were entered into the immigration system, ORTIZ-ROMO was identified as having been previously removed from the United States on July 20, 1999, through Calexico, California.
When questioned, ORTIZ-ROMO confirmed that he had previously been deported and that he did not have permission to re-enter the United States.
A further review of Immigration Records did not reveal any evidence that ORTIZ-ROMO had received permission from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reenter the United States after being removed on July 20, 1999. ORTIZ-ROMO has a prior aggravated felony for a qualifying drug charge from 1995 in California.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ORTIZ-ROMO will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ORTIZ-ROMO does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was conducted by the Montana Highway Patrol and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
