Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley, III announces that a federal jury yesterday found Leonel Hernandez-Lopez (36, Bradenton), a/k/a Jose Luis Carbajal, guilty of illegal re-entry after deportation. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 18, 2015. Hernandez-Lopez was indicted on September 5, 2013.

According to evidence presented at trial, on December 12, 2002, Hernandez-Lopez was deported from the United States to Mexico. On August 16, 2013, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents found him in Bradenton. Hernandez-Lopez had not requested permission to re-enter the United States after his deportation.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Customs Investigative Service and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer L. Peresie and Michael V. Leeman.