Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry Charges

Columbia, South Carolina---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Jose Alberto Nava-Reyes, age 35, from Guerrero, Mexico pled guilty in federal court in Florence, South Carolina, to Illegal Reentry into the United States after deportation, a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a).  United States District Judge Bryan Harwell, of Florence, accepted the plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that on April 15, 2017, ICE-Enforcement Removal Operations Officers in Charleston, SC, discovered Nava-Reyes, while he was in custody at the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Horry County on state charges. Immigration records revealed that Nava-Reyes was a native and citizen of Mexico who had previously been deported from the United States back to Mexico on multiple occasions. Nava-Reyes has never received permission to enter or remain in the US.

Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty the defendant can receive is imprisonment for 10 years and a fine of $250,000.

The case was investigated by agents of the Horry County Police Department and Immigration Custom Enforcement-Enforcement Removal Operations.  Assistant United States Attorney A. Bradley Parham of the Florence office prosecuted the case.

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