U.S. Attorney’s Office Ramps Up Prosecution Of Illegal Re-Entry Into The United States Following Deportation

SAN JOSE – In the latest example of federal prosecutors’ increased focus on defendants alleged to have been found in the United States following removal, a federal grand jury yesterday returned an indictment charging Jesus Alexis Cervantes-Luna, aka “Sinaloa,” with one count of illegal reentry following removal from the United States and multiple counts of drug and firearms offenses.

Cervantes-Luna, 29, a Mexican national, was initially charged by complaint on July 8, 2025. The eight-count indictment filed on July 24, 2025, charges Cervantes-Luna with one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl; two counts of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of fentanyl; two counts of possession with intent to distribute five grams and more of methamphetamine; one count of unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition as a felon; one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking; and one count of illegal reentry following removal.

According to the complaint, in February 2025, law enforcement responded to a hit-and-run collision in Salinas, Calif., involving a grey GMC SUV registered to an individual at an address in Soledad, Calif. While heading to the Soledad address, law enforcement observed a grey GMC SUV matching the description of the hit-and-run vehicle parked at a nearby gas station and made contact with the alleged driver, Cervantes-Luna. During a search of the GMC, law enforcement allegedly found a backpack with suspected narcotics, two boxes of 9mm ammunition, clear plastic baggies, shaved keys, and a glass pipe.

The complaint further describes that, on March 25, 2025, based on an outstanding warrant, law enforcement attempted to conduct a traffic stop of a van that Cervantes-Luna was driving. When officers exited their patrol car, the van accelerated at a high rate of speed and led officers on a 23.5-mile pursuit from Soledad to Paicines, Calif. Officers were unable to locate Cervantes-Luna, but found a black backpack that they had previously seen Cervantes-Luna hold. Inside the backpack, officers allegedly located approximately 17 net grams of suspected methamphetamine, a baggie of suspected fentanyl pills weighing approximately 51.4 net grams, a baggie of suspected fentanyl powder weighing approximately 59.7 net grams and a digital scale.

On March 31, 2025, law enforcement arrested Cervantes-Luna for an outstanding warrant while he was driving a Jeep in Monterey County. During a search incident to arrest, officers allegedly found a semiautomatic firearm in Cervantes-Luna’s waistband, and also located on his person a black satchel containing approximately 37 net grams of suspected methamphetamine and approximately 75.2 net grams of suspected fentanyl.

On April 2, 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant in King City, Calif., during which they located an Audi that allegedly belonged to Cervantes-Luna. Inside the Audi, officers allegedly found a white compressed brick of suspected fentanyl with a net weight of 624.8 grams.

As charged in the indictment, Cervantes-Luna was previously deported and removed from the United States on or about September 2023.

Cervantes-Luna was previously arrested on the complaint on July 14, 2025, in Monterey, Calif., and made his initial appearance that same day. He is scheduled to be arraigned on the indictment on July 28, 2025.

United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Brannigan made the announcement.

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Since January 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California has significantly increased the number of such prosecutions and has publicly filed criminal charges against over a dozen defendants alleged to have been found in the United States following removal. Many of the charged defendants were previously convicted of felony offenses prior to their removal from the United States, including, for example:

• Juan Jose Vazquez Hernandez, 34, a Mexican national, was convicted of and has been sentenced for illegal reentry following removal, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(1). Vazquez Hernandez was previously convicted of possessing an assault weapon. He has been deported or removed from the United States on at least nine occasions since 2010.

• Jose and Jonathan Erazo: Jose Erazo, 36, and Jonathan Erazo, 33, Honduran nationals, were charged with illegal reentry into the United States following deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(1) and 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), respectively. Both defendants were previously ordered removed from the United States.

  On June 20, 2025, Jose Erazo pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, and illegal reentry following removal. According to the plea agreement, in May 2024, Jose Erazo was found with fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and cocaine. Law enforcement also found an industrial press, cutting agents, large amounts of currency, and packaging materials at his residence and stash house.

  Jonathan Erazo also pleaded guilty on June 20, 2025, to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and illegal reentry following removal. According to the plea agreement, in May 2024, Jonathan Erazo was found with fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine base, and heroin that he intended to distribute.

• Wilson Acosta-Zuniga: 53, a Honduran national, was charged with being found in the United States following deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(1), and possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). He pleaded guilty to both counts of the information on July 7, 2025. According to the plea agreement, Acosta-Zuniga was removed from the United States in 2011, following a felony illegal reentry conviction in 2009. On or about April 28, 2025, Acosta-Zuniga was arrested for selling methamphetamine near 9th and Mission Streets in San Francisco. Law enforcement found methamphetamine, cocaine base, heroin, and cocaine in Acosta-Zuniga’s possession.
• Augustin Luna-Gasca, 41, a Mexican national, was charged with illegal reentry into the United States following deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(2). According to the criminal complaint, Luna-Gasca was deported from the United States on two prior occasions in March 2022 and June 2019. Luna-Gasca has a prior felony conviction for lewd and lascivious acts with a child under 14.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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A criminal complaint or indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, defendants who were removed after a prior felony conviction face a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, and defendants removed after a prior aggravated felony conviction face a maximum of 20 years in prison. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

The prosecutions are the result of investigations by HSI, DEA, ICE ERO, and FBI.