U.S. Department
of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office charges 11 new immigration cases, obtains 1 guilty plea
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced today charges pending against 11 new defendants for allegedly violating federal immigration laws and one new conviction. The defendants include a previously convicted sex offender, a man who allegedly opened fire near a local taco restaurant and a man who is alleged to be part of a transnational gang.
A criminal complaint was filed in Columbus on April 18 charging Abel Velasquez-Avecedo, 29, of Mexico, with illegally possessing a firearm as an illegal alien. On April 11, Velasquez-Avecedo and another individual allegedly had an argument at Taco Nice restaurant in Columbus. It is alleged that the defendant fired multiple shots from a vehicle while driving near the restaurant.
Local law enforcement authorities found Velasquez-Avecedo to be in possession of a pistol and 30 to 40 small baggies of suspected cocaine. The defendant has prior convictions including operating a vehicle while intoxicated and assault.
A federal grand jury indicted Adiel Hernandez-Orellana, 39, of El Salvador, with illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony. Hernandez-Orellana was previously convicted of sexual assault in Arkansas.
Milton Guevara-Cruz, 31, of El Salvador, was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly reentering the United States illegally after deportation. Charging documents filed against Guevara-Cruz detail that he is a member of the violent 18th Street transnational gang from El Salvador. It is alleged that he is a member of the gang’s Tyni Locos Surenos clique and has been arrested in El Salvador three times for related criminal activity.
A federal grand jury also indicted Sergio Diego-Sevilla, 35, of Mexico, for illegally reentering the United States.
Diego-Sevilla was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by Adalberto Calixto-Tolentino, 21, who pleaded guilty in federal court in Columbus last week to two counts of transporting illegal aliens. Calixto-Tolentino admitted to being paid cash to pick up illegal aliens near the Mexico border in Arizona and transport them throughout the United States.
Juan Jacobo Ortega-Guevara, 36, also allegedly transported illegal aliens. He was charged yesterday by criminal complaint. Ortega-Guevara was stopped by law enforcement while in a vehicle in Guernsey County with six other individuals. The defendant had $3,000 in cash on him and is alleged to have transported illegal aliens from the southwest toward the midatlantic for pay.
Six other defendants were charged by criminal complaint with illegally reentering the United States after deportation. They include Carlos Garcia Carillo, 47, of Mexico; Saul Lopez-Rojas, 39, of Mexico; Gelacio Macias-Olivares, 42, of Mexico; Anselmo Munguia Martinez, 36, of Mexico; Zenaido Neri Perez, 31, of Mexico and Jose Gonzalez-Rodriguez, 28, of Mexico.
Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has a prior felony conviction (or multiple prior misdemeanor convictions of certain types), the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison. Transporting illegal aliens is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Possessing a firearm as an illegal alien is a federal crime punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the charges. Deputy Criminal Chief Brian J. Martinez and Assistant United States Attorneys Tyler J. Aagard, Elizabeth Geraghty, Peter K. Glenn Applegate, Ryan A. Keefe, Noah R. Litton, Ebunoluwa Taiwo and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in these cases.
Charging documents merely contain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
These cases were investigated and prosecuted by the Southern District of Ohio Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
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