Ethiopian national sentenced to 27 months in prison for resisting deportation orders

ALEXANDRIA, La. – United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announced that an Ethiopian national was sentenced Tuesday to 27 months in prison for refusing to leave the country twice after being ordered to depart.

Henok Dejene Retta, 30, of Addis, Ethiopia, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell on two counts of failure to depart. Retta was found guilty on both counts after a two-day trial that ended July 1, 2015. Evidence admitted at trial revealed that on two occasions U.S. Immigration Enforcement agents attempted to remove Retta from the country via the Alexandria International Airport by putting him on a commercial flight.  The defendant hampered agents’ ability to remove him by verbally and physically resisting agents on November 19, 2013. The defendant also hampered attempts to put him on a commercial flight at the airport on January 7, 2014, when he told those present that he had terrorist ties in Africa and would have the plane attacked should he be put on the plane. These incidents prevented him from boarding the flights because of airline and Transportation Security Administration safety policies.

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert F. Moore and Howard C. Parker prosecuted the case.