Okeechobee man sentenced to 20 months in prison for being found in the United States after prior removal

MIAMI – On Oct. 17, a federal district judge sentenced an Okeechobee man to 20 months in prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for being found in the United States after a prior removal, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a).

Jose Lara-Santos, 54, was previously removed from the United States in 2017, and was found back in the United States early this year during an arrest in Okeechobee, Florida. Lara-Santos was previously convicted of Driving Under the Influence (DUI).

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Acting Field Office Director Liana J. Castano of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), announced the sentence. 

ICE ERO, Stuart Office, investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Hudock prosecuted it.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-14019.

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