Guatemalan Man Pleads Guilty to Unlawful Reentry by an Alien Removed After Conviction of a Felony

Gulfport, Miss. – Gerber Estif Pineda-Sierra, 34, an illegal alien from Guatemala, pled guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola, Jr., to unlawful reentry by an alien deported or removed after conviction of a felony, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca, and Michael J. Harrison, Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector. 

Pineda-Sierra will be sentenced by Judge Guirola on May 11, 2021, at 1:30 p.m. and faces a potential maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, in addition to 3 years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.  He also faces Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proceedings regarding removal from the United States following the completion of any prison sentence.

On November 11, 2020, Gerber Estif Pineda-Sierra was arrested by U.S. Borter Patrol agents after an investigation determined that he had been previously removed from the U.S. and was residing in the Gulfport area.  Record checks documented that in 2018, Pineda-Sierra had been physically removed from the U.S. after being ordered removed by a U.S. Immigration Judge.  He later reentered the U.S. and was convicted in the Northern District of Florida in 2019, for the felony offense of illegal reentry into the U.S. of a previously deported alien.  He was again removed from the U.S. in October 2019.  In January 2020, he was arrested by the Border Patrol, and was returned to Guatemala in February 2020. 

Acting U.S. Attorney LaMarca praised the investigative work of the U.S. Border Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.  Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris is the prosecutor for the case.