Brazilian National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry

BOSTON – A Brazilian national previously convicted of murder in state court, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to illegal reentry.

Walter Gomes DaSilva, 48, a Brazilian national illegally residing in New Bedford, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf scheduled sentencing for April 2, 2020.

DaSilva was deported to Brazil in 1999 following a conviction for domestic assault and battery. Sometime after his removal, DaSilva illegally reentered the United States. In 2003, DaSilva was convicted of armed assault to murder in the Middlesex Superior Court and was sentenced to 8-10 years in prison. Upon completion of his sentence, DaSilva was placed into removal proceedings and on March 27, 2012, he was deported to Brazil.

Sometime after his 2012 removal, DaSilva again illegally reentered the United States. DaSilva was charged in 2016 in Bristol County with illegal possession of a firearm and the murder of his daughter. In 2018, DaSilva was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25-years-to-life in prison.

In February 2019, DaSilva was charged in this case.

The charge of illegal reentry carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Marcos D. Charles, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth G. Shine of Lelling’s Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.