Citizen of Guatemala Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the U.S.

Deirdre M. Daly, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that DAVID ORTIZ JUAREZ, 35, a citizen of Guatemala who recently resided in Hartford, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to approximately seven and one-half months of imprisonment, time already served, and two years of supervised release, for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

According to court documents and statements made in court, ORTIZ JUAREZ, who has never held legal status in the U.S., entered the U.S. through New Mexico when he was a juvenile. He was removed to Guatemala in April 1998.

ORTIZ JUAREZ illegally reentered the U.S. in approximately 2003 and lived in Hartford. He was subsequently convicted after trial in Hartford superior court of two counts of risk of injury to a minor. The conviction was related to severe injuries suffered by his then four-month-old daughter who was in his care. Following service of a five-year sentence, he was removed to Guatemala in April 2009.

ORTIZ JUAREZ again illegally reentered the U.S. On August 7, 2016, he was arrested by Hartford Police for driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

ORTIZ JUAREZ has been detained since his arrest by ICE agents on August 19, 2016. On January 5, 2017, he pleaded guilty to reentry of a removed alien.

At the conclusion of today’s court proceeding, ORTIZ JUAREZ was taken into ICE custody and will be removed to Guatemala.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Deborah R. Slater.