MEXICAN ILLEGAL ALIEN SENTENCED TO 30 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR ILLEGAL REENTRY

A. Courtney Cox, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced today that on September 24, 2009, ERNESTO LEON-MACIAS, age 39, of Mexico, was sentenced in United States District Court, Benton, Illinois, following his guilty plea to an Indictment charging him with Illegal Re-entry by a Removed Alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a) and (b)(1), to 30 months’ imprisonment, 2 years’ supervised release and a $100 special assessment. The Defendant will be removed from the United States following service of the sentence.

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 conviction in the Superior Court of Clayton County, Georgia, on July 7, 1995.

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.