1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Fawn E. Thomas, Public Affairs Specialist

 

February 3, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Defendant Indicted for Illegally Re-Entering the United States

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA — A 22 year old defendant was named in an Indictment returned on February 2, 2010, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Acting United States Attorney Betsy C. Jividen announced that ARMANDO PEREZ was named in a one-count Indictment charging PEREZ, an alien, with re-entering the United States after having been previously deported in February 2009 and not having obtained the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security nor the Attorney General to reapply for admission to the United States. The Indictment alleges that PEREZ was found in Wheeling on December 17, 2009.

If convicted, PEREZ faces a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment and a fine of $250,000.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John C. Parr. The case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.