MEXICAN RESIDENT PLEADS GUILTY TO ILLEGAL RE-ENTRY

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on June 22, 2009, ERNESTO LEON-MACIAS, age 38, of Mexico, pled guilty in United States District Court, Benton, Illinois, to an Indictment charging him with Illegal Re-entry by a Removed Alien. The violation took place on or about December 20, 2008, in Jasper County, Illinois. Sentencing is scheduled for September 24, 2009.

According to the Indictment and other court documents, LEON-MACIAS was found in Jasper County, Illinois, while he was awaiting trial on state charges. LEON-MACIAS had previously been removed from the United States on September 19, 1998, following a felony drug conviction in the Superior Court of Clayton County at Clayton County, Georgia, on July 7, 1995.

The offense of Illegal Re-entry by a Removed Alien carries with it a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, a fine of $250,000.00, or both, and up to 3 years’ supervised release. The Court may also order LEON-MACIAS’s deportation/removal following service of the term of imprisonment.

Information for the indictment was obtained in an investigation conducted by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with assistance from the Jasper County State’s Attorney Kevin Parker. The case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Kit Morrissey.