Man from El Salvador pleads guilty to reentering the U.S. illegally for the second time

LAKE CHARLES, La. – Acting U.S. Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that a citizen of El Salvador pleaded guilty Tuesday to reentering the United States illegally.

Jose Edmundo Martinez-Ortiz, 24, of El Salvador, pleaded guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen Kay to one count of illegal reentry of a removed alien. The plea will become final when accepted by U.S. District Judge Dee D. Drell. According to the guilty plea, Lake Charles police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle containing illegal aliens on November 15, 2016. Martinez-Ortiz admitted to being in the United States illegally. Upon further investigation, law enforcement agents found that the defendant had been found guilty of armed robbery in Maryland on September 11, 2014 and had been removed from the United States in 2016.

Martinez-Ortiz faces 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.

United States Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and the Lake Charles Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert F. Moore is prosecuting the case.