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Press Release

Repeatedly deported aliens sentenced to federal prison after returning to U.S. and caught committing crimes

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Georgia
Defendants will again be deported after completion of sentences

AUGUSTA, GA:  Four illegal aliens have been sentenced to prison terms for returning to the U.S. after prior deportation, and five others have made U.S. District Court appearances on similar charges.

Most of the defendants have been removed previously, most twice or more, before returning illegally, said Bobby L. Christine, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.

“These illegal aliens have previously been removed, only to return to the United States illegally and commit additional crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Christine. “When illegals are caught, local law enforcement agencies can count on our office to prosecute and remove them.”

Since 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia has prosecuted 225 defendants for Reentry After Removal/Deportation.

Those sentenced include:

  • Silvano Marroquin-Bravo, 49, a citizen of Mexico who resided in Pooler, Ga., sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge R. Stan Baker to 15 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to Reentry After Removal/Deportation. After Marroquin-Bravo was arrested by Garden City, Ga., police in May on traffic and on outstanding warrants for domestic violence and weapons-related state offenses, an immigration check determined he previously was deported in 2017, 2018 and 2019 and returned illegally to the United States.
  • Jose Louis Amezquita-Montenegro, 41, a citizen of Guatemala, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall after pleading guilty to Reentry After Removal/Deportation, followed by one year of supervised release. Amezquita-Montenegro was arrested by Grovetown Public Safety officers Jan. 28, 2020, and found to have been deported in 2014 after an arrest in Columbia County; in 2016 after an arrest in Jefferson County; and was to have been transferred to federal custody in preparation for deportation after being sentenced to state prison in 2017 on an assault charge in Columbia County. Instead he was released to probation on April 30, 2019, and arrested in Grovetown nine months later on state charges of theft by receiving stolen property and obstruction of an officer.
  • Cristian Eduardo Flores-Garcia, 32, a citizen of Honduras, sentenced to 18 months in prison by Chief Judge Hall after pleading guilty to Reentry After Removal/Deportation, followed by one year of supervised release. Flores-Garcia, who previously was deported twice in 2012 from Walesco, Texas, after illegally entering the United States, was arrested Jan. 26, 2020 by Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies responding to a report of an armed altercation in a restaurant parking lot.  
  • Ezequiel Guarda-Lopez, 59, a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty before Chief Judge Hall to a charge of Reentry After Removal/Deportation and was sentenced to time served. Guarda-Lopez, who previously was deported in 1998 and 2002, was arrested by Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies after an Aug. 20, 2020, traffic stop. He is now subject to deportation.

Five other defendants indicted on charges of Reentry After Removal/Deportation made initial court appearances this week before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Christopher L. Ray:

  • Juan Pablo Alvarado-Valadez, 41, a citizen of Mexico. Alvarado-Valadez, previously deported in 2017, was arrested after a traffic stop in Statesboro, Ga., in April 2019.
  • Victor Martinez-Luna, 32, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested on state charges including burglary on Oct. 11, 2020, by Garden City, Ga., police, and found to have been deported previously in 2019.
  • Walter Godinez-Perez, 32, a citizen of Guatemala, was discovered to be illegally present in the United States after his Oct. 22, 2020, arrest in Garden City on state charges. Godinez-Perez previously was deported in 2011, 2012 and 2015. 
  • Gabriel Solis, 43, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested May 28, 2019, by Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies and later convicted on state family violence charges. He was previously deported in 2018.
  • Jesus Villasenor-Lopez, 25, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested on traffic charges including driving under the influence on Oct. 17, 2020, by Richmond County Sheriff’s deputies and was discovered to be in the country illegally after having been deported in 2013.

Criminal indictments contain only charges; defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The cases were investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Homeland Security Investigations; and by local law enforcement agencies, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alejandro V. Pascual IV and Joseph McCool.

Contact

Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer: 912-652-4422

Updated December 9, 2020

Topic
Immigration
Press Release Number: 187-20