Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on December 14, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, SAUL VALENZUELA-NAVARRO, a 35-year-old citizen of Mexico, appeared for sentencing. VALENZUELA-NAVARRO was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 16 months

• Special Assessment: $100

• Supervised Release: 3 years

VALENZUELA-NAVARRO was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to illegal re-entry after having been deported previously.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan R. Whittaker, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On June 23, 2009, an agent with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered VALENZUELA-NAVARRO while responding to a call for assistance from the Rocky Boy's Police Department on the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation near Box Elder.

VALENZUELA-NAVARRO produced a Mexican voter card as identification. The agent called Havre Sector Dispatch and ran records check using VALENZUELA-NAVARRO'S name and date of birth. These checks revealed multiple prior deportations and several arrests and convictions for criminal charges.

A fingerprint analysis returned positive hits from several records checks systems for criminal and immigration violations for VALENZUELA-NAVARRO. The fingerprint examination also positively identified the fingerprints as belonging to VALENZUELA-NAVARRO, who had previously been deported and removed from the United States on October 8, 1998, April 28, 2000, September 22, 2000, July 22, 2004, October 19, 2004, and January 3, 2005.

Testimony and documentation would have been presented to establish that a search of immigration records revealed no evidence that VALENZUELA-NAVARRO ever requested, or obtained permission from the Attorney General of the United States or his successor, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to apply for re-entry into the United States.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that VALENZUELA-NAVARRO will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, VALENZUELA-NAVARRO does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Rocky Boy's Reservation Police Department.

 

 

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