Federal Court Sentences Man on Illegal Re-entry Charge

DAVENPORT, IA - On July 14, 2015, Juan De Dios Mendez Ayala, age 35, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by United States Senior District Court Judge James E. Gritzner to 51 months in prison after Mendez Ayala stipulated to a violation of his supervised release from a prior 2011 conviction and pleaded guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States as an aggravated felon, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Mendez Ayala was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment, and to pay $100 towards the Crime Victims Fund.

After serving his prison sentence, Mendez Ayala will be turned over to immigration authorities for deportation proceedings. Mendez Ayala was sentenced as an aggravated felon based on a 1997 conviction for burglary second degree and a 2008 conviction for possession of stolen property. Mendez Ayala was deported on three prior occasions, most recently in 2012.

This case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.