Guatemalan Citizen Convicted of Third Illegal Entry into United States

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Otilio Sales-Gomes, 34, of Guatemala, pled guilty yesterday in United States District Court in Syracuse to one felony count of illegally reentering the United States after having been previously deported following a felony conviction, announced United States Attorney Richard S. Hartunian and Michael T. Phillips, Field Office Director, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations—Buffalo Field Office. 

Sales-Gomes admitted in federal court that he returned to the United States approximately one year ago and was most recently living and working illegally in Oriskany, New York. Sales-Gomes came to the attention of law enforcement after he was arrested in Oneida County earlier this year for endangering the welfare of a child. As part of his guilty plea in federal court, Sales-Gomes also admitted that he was first removed from the United States in September 2005, and  later returned here illegally. Nearly two years later, in June 2007, Sales-Gomes was convicted in the United States District Court for the District of New Mexico of one felony count of reentry after removal, after which he was deported a second time. 

Sales-Gomes will be sentenced on November 2, 2016, by Chief United States District Judge Glenn T. Suddaby. The felony charge to which Sales-Gomes pled guilty carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Following his completion of any prison sentence, Sales-Gomes will be subject to removal proceedings for the third time. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. 

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Perry.