On March 23, 2011, a federal grand jury sitting in East St. Louis, returned an indictment charging Maximiliano Tovar-Hernandez, 28, of St. Louis, Mo.-, with Entry into the United States Without Inspection, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, Stephen R. Wigginton, announced today. The indictment was originally suppressed, but has since been unsealed by the Court. If convicted, Tovar-Hernandez faces a maximum potential sentence of up to six months imprisonment, a fine of up to $5000, and not more than one year of supervised release.

An indictment is a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge and is entitled to a fair trial at which the Government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Evidence in support of the indictment was obtained in an investigation which was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Homeland Security Investigations. This case is assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Randy G. Massey for prosecution.

 

 

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