Indictment Charges Mexican National with Illegally Reentering U.S. after Deportation

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that CARLOS FERNANDEZ-BARRITOS, also known as “Ricardo Fernandez,” 30, a citizen of Mexico formerly residing in East Hartford, has been charged by indictment with illegally reentering the U.S. after being deported.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, on December 11, 2014, Fernandez was sentenced in Bridgeport federal court to approximately 14 months of imprisonment, time already served, for his role in a narcotics trafficking ring.  Fernandez was deported and removed from the U.S. to Mexico in January 2015.

It is further alleged that Fernandez subsequently illegally reentered the U.S.  On November 4, 2022, Fernandez was arrested by Hartford Police for disorderly conduct, threatening, assault in the third degree, reckless endangerment in the first degree, and interfering with police.  He was released on a $20,000 bond shortly thereafter.  On March 15, 2023, the East Hartford Police Department responded to a report that Fernandez had stabbed his domestic partner.  Fernandez fled before police arrived, and an arrest warrant charging him with assault in the second degree, violation of a restraining order, and disorderly conduct is still outstanding.

Fernandez has been detained since August 15, 2023, when he was arrested on federal criminal complaint charging him with illegally reentering the U.S.  On November 20, 2023, a federal grand jury in Bridgeport returned an indictment charging him with the offense.  Fernandez appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and entered a plea of not guilty.

If convicted of the charge of illegal reentry, Fernandez faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Jessica Casey.