Guatemalan Man Sentenced for Illegal Reentry

BOSTON – A Guatemalan man was sentenced on March 1, 2024 in federal court in Boston for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.

Romeo Waldemar Gabriel Lopez, 32, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to time served (approximately six months in prison) and one year of supervised release. In December 2023, Gabriel Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien.

Gabriel Lopez was first deported in April 2016 following a conviction for operating under the influence (OUI).  His second deportation was in October 2016, after he was apprehended illegally crossing the border in Eagle Pass, Texas.  

Gabriel Lopez was later apprehended in Texas after illegally crossing the border again in December 2016. He was subsequently deported for a third time in April 2017. In February 2020, Gabriel Lopez was found to have unlawfully reentered the United States again when he was arrested and charged with a second OUI. He was removed from the United States again in March 2020. Sometime after his March 2020 removal, Gabriel Lopez unlawfully reentered the United States and was arrested on charges of assault and battery, which were later dismissed.

In July 2022, he pleaded guilty to the second, pending OUI charge and was sentenced to probation. After being incarcerated for violating the conditions of his probation in August 2023, Gabriel Lopez was transferred into the custody of immigration authorities in September 2023.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Reynolds III of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.