Guatemalan Man Pleads Guilty to Illegal Re-Entry into United States and Escape from Custody

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mario Ipsolino Pineda-Boteo, age 35, and a citizen of Guatemala, pled guilty today to illegally re-entering the United States and escaping the custody of United States officers.

The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon and Thomas E. Feeley, Director of the Buffalo Field Office of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Pineda-Boteo admitted that he is a citizen of Guatemala, and that he was removed from the United States to Guatemala on September 9, 2010.  On August 21, 2020, he was found by an ICE Officer near Greenfield, New York, in Saratoga County.  A check of fingerprint records verified the prior removal. 

Pineda-Boteo also admitted as part of his guilty plea that, following his lawful arrest and being placed in handcuffs on August 21, he fled the custody of the ICE Officers by running into a nearby wooded area in Greenfield, where he hid for less than an hour until he was arrested by law enforcement.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 19, 2021 before United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino.  Pineda-Boteo faces a potential maximum term of imprisonment of 5 years and a maximum fine of $250,000.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

This case was investigated by ICE-ERO and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Wentworth-Ping.