Albanian Convicted For Resisting Deportation Orders

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that Bledar Bujilici, 36, of Albania, was found guilty Friday by a federal jury for impeding or hampering his deportation.  U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell presided over the trial.

Bujilici’s trial started last Thursday and ended Friday with the jury returning the guilty verdict after deliberating for 32 minutes.  Witness testimony and documents admitted at trial revealed that U.S. Immigration Enforcement Agents (IEA) brought the defendant to the Alexandria International Airport on March 1, 2012 and attempted to put him on a commercial flight.  After being removed from a van, the defendant got down on the ground and would not get up.  He was returned to federal prison.  The defendant also refused deportation on Nov. 21, 2011 at Logan International Airport in Boston, Mass., before being transferred to a prison in Louisiana.  He has been in federal custody since February 2008 when he was convicted of second degree assault.

Bujilici faces up to four years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and one year of supervised release for resisting deportation.  Sentencing is set for Oct. 29, 2013.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Earl M. Campbell and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. France are prosecuting the case.