Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty After Arrest on Drug, Assault and Firearm Charges

RICHMOND, Va. – A Mexican citizen pleaded guilty today to illegally reentering the United States after removal and committing further crimes that resulted in his arrest on drug, assault and firearm charges.

According to court documents, Mexican citizen Linaldo Martinez Hernandez, 30, first illegally entered the United States on the Texas border. In 2008, he was apprehended by immigration authorities in North Carolina and removed at taxpayer expense from the United States to Mexico. Thereafter, on an unknown date, Martinez Hernandez illegally reentered the United States a second time. On January 14, ICE learned Martinez Hernandez had been arrested in Richmond for drug, assault, and firearm charges.

Hernandez pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison when sentenced on May 16. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Jeffrey M. Jacoff, Acting Field Office Director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge David J. Novak accepted the plea. Assistant U.S. Attorney S. David Schiller is prosecuting the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:19-cr-22.