NEWS RELEASE

OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

WESTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI

BRADLEY J. SCHLOZMAN

Contact Don Ledford, Public Affairs ● (816) 426-4220 ● 400 East Ninth Street, Room 5510 ● Kansas City, MO 64106

www.usdoj.gov/usao/mow/index.html

FEBRUARY 22, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEXICAN NATIONAL PLEADS GUILTY

TO ILLEGAL REENTRY

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – Bradley J. Schlozman, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Mexican national pleaded guilty in federal court today to illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

Efrain Arzola-Rivera, 31, a citizen of Mexico, address unknown, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Nanette K. Laughrey this afternoon to the charge contained in a Jan. 5, 2007, federal indictment.

Arzola-Rivera was found in Kingdom City, Mo., on Dec. 19, 2006. Arzola-Rivera had been deported from the United States on Jan. 17, 2001, after serving a state sentence for his conviction for kidnaping and extortion in Arizona.

Under federal statutes, Arzola-Rivera could be subject to a sentence of up to 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine up to $250,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony P. Gonzalez. It was investigated by the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Callaway County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Columbia, Mo., Police Department.

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