United States Attorney's Office District of Connecticut
Press Release

CITIZEN OF MEXICO ARRESTED IN NEW HAVEN ADMITS ILLEGALLY REENTERING THE U.S.

Nora R. Dannehy, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ADALBERTO ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ, 33, of Mexico, pleaded guilty yesterday, April 29, before Senior United States District Judge Peter C. Dorsey in New Haven to one count of unlawful presence of a deported alien.  ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ also admitted that he violated the conditions of his supervised release stemming from a previous federal conviction in 2006 for illegally reentering the United States after deportation.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on May 30, 2009, ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ was encountered by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Connecticut after having been deported three times, in 2001, 2002, and 2007.  ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ’s deportations in 2001 and 2002 resulted from his 1998 conviction for first degree unlawful restraint and fourth degree sexual assault.  In 2005, after he illegally returned to the U.S., ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ was charged in the District of Connecticut with illegal reentry.  ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ pleaded guilty to the charge and was sentenced to 23 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.  ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ was released from the federal Bureau of Prisons in February 2007 and was deported to Mexico on March 17, 2007.

On May 30, 2009, ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ was arrested by the New Haven Police Department after he was found in a vehicle with a .22 rifle on his lap.  ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession of a firearm and, on July 22, 2009, he was sentenced in New Haven Superior Court to five years of incarceration, suspended after two.

When he is sentenced in federal court, ARTEAGA-RODRIGUEZ faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on the immigration charge, and a maximum term of imprisonment of two years for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

This matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Detention and Removal Operation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Deborah R. Slater.

CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov