ROGELIO GONZALEZ-MELCHOR, age 25, a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty in federal court today before U. S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon to a one-count indictment charging him with illegal re-entry by a removed alien, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

According to the factual basis, on May 18, 2011, GONZALEZ, an alien who had previously been removed from the United States, was knowingly and unlawfully found in the United States in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana without the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security having expressly consented to his re-application for admission into the United States.

The indictment charging GONZALEZ with one count of re-entry by a removed alien also included a notice of sentencing enhancement based on GONZALEZ’s prior aggravated felony conviction. With the enhancement, the single count carries a maximum statutory penalty of twenty (20) years imprisonment, a fine of $250,000, and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment. Sentencing has been scheduled for November 10, 2011 at 2:00 P.M.

The case was investigated as part of a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) national operation known as Operation Cross Check. This operation targeted convicted criminal aliens throughout the United States. ICE was assisted in this operation in the New Orleans area by the Louisiana State Police, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, Kenner Police Department, Harahan Police Department, and the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections - Division of Probation and Patrol.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U. S. Attorney Robert Weir.

(Download Factual Basis )

 

 

 

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