Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula, on November 19, 2009, before U.S. District Judge Donald W. Molloy, MIGUEL ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS, a 40-year-old citizen of Mexico, appeared for sentencing. ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS was sentenced to a term of:

• Prison: 212 days, time served

• Special Assessment: $100

ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien.

In an Offer of Proof filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan R. Whittaker, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:

On April 20, 2009, ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS was arrested in Belgrade. He was found concealed in a crawl space in an apartment which law enforcement officers had searched pursuant to an arrest warrant for a drug offense.

A fingerprint analysis revealed that ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS had previously been deported and removed from the United States on March 17, 1995, from Detroit, Michigan and again on August 29, 2007, from El Paso, Texas.

A review of immigration records revealed no evidence that ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS ever requested or obtained permission from the Attorney General of the United States or his successor, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, to apply for re-entry into the United States.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ESCAMILLA-TERRAZAS does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.

The investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

 

 

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