Mexican Man Pleads Guilty to and is Sentenced for Immigration Crime

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Israel Garcia-Cocotle, also known as “Israel Cocotle Rayon” and “Israel Cococle-Garcia,” 33, a Mexican national, pleaded guilty today to the felony offense of reentry of a removed alien and was sentenced to 10 months in prison. Garcia-Cocotle will be remanded to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation proceedings at the conclusion of his sentence.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 8, 2022, ICE agents arrested Garcia-Cocotle in Charleston, Kanawha County, following a traffic stop conducted of a vehicle he was driving. Garcia-Cocotle did not have a driver’s license and presented a Mexican consular identification document. Garcia-Cocotle admitted that he was a citizen of Mexico in the United States illegally and that he had previously been deported from the United States. Garcia-Cocotle had no identification documents permitting him legal status in the United States.

Fingerprints matched Garcia-Cocotle to nine prior removals from the United States to Mexico between 2009 and 2018. Garcia-Cocotle was previously convicted of felony third-degree rape and fourth-degree assault in Fayette County, Kentucky, Circuit Court on July 6, 2018. Garcia-Cocotle was also convicted of illegal entry into the United States in United States District Court for the District of Arizona on July 18, 2011. Garcia-Cocotle never obtained the express consent of the Secretary of U.S. Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States for any of the prior removals, nor did he seek to reenter the United States through other legal means.

United States Attorney Will Thompson made the announcement and commended the investigative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.

United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:23-cr-11.

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