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Press Release

Two illegal aliens sentenced, one pleads guilty after arrests in Calcasieu, St. Mary parishes

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Louisiana

LAFAYETTE/LAKE CHARLES, La. United States Attorney David C. Joseph announced that two illegal aliens were sentenced and one pleaded guilty after arrests that took place in Calcasieu and St. Mary parishes.

Illegal alien from Mexico arrested in St. Mary Parish pleads guilty to drugs, firearms charges

LAFAYETTE - Raymundo Pizano-Montes, 38, of Mexico, pleaded guilty Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carol Whitehurst to one count of possession with intent to distribute LSD and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to the guilty plea, a St. Mary Parish deputy pulled over a Mazda SUV for a traffic violation. Pizaono-Montes was one of five occupants in the vehicle. The deputy searched the vehicle and found $14,582; 319 dosage units of LSD; 82 Xanax pills; marijuana paraphernalia; a scale; and 12 firearms. The defendant stated he was a Mexican citizen who buys and sells firearms and drugs. Pizano-Montes was deported in 2010 after having been convicted in California for second degree battery and had re-entered the United States illegally. 

Pizano-Montes faces 15 to 25 years in prison, four years of supervised release and a $5 million fine. The court set sentencing for March 1, 2019.

Homeland Security Investigations, ATF and St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Ayo is prosecuting the case.

 

Illegal alien from Mexico arrested in Calcasieu Parish and sentenced for illegal re-entry 

LAKE CHARLES - Alfredo Sanchez-Hernandez, 39, of Mexico, was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter for illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. According to the August 28, 2018 guilty plea, Sanchez-Hernandez was found in Calcasieu Parish on March 5, 2018 to be in the United States illegally. After further investigation, law enforcement agents discovered that Sanchez-Hernandez had been previously removed from the United States on four occasions with the most recent being on February 15, 2010 near San Ysidro, California.  The defendant was convicted in California in May of 2000 for possession of heroin and was not allowed to re-enter the United States.

Homeland Security Investigations and the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney T. Forrest Phillips is prosecuting the case.  The defendant was remanded to the custody of U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement for deportation proceedings. 

 

Illegal alien from Honduras sentenced for illegally re-entering U.S. four times

LAKE CHARLES - Boney D. Cruz-Funez, 33, of Progresso, Honduras, was sentenced Tuesday to 10 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald E. Walter on one count of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien.  According to the June 20, 2018 guilty plea, on April 11, 2018, Sulphur police conducted a traffic stop on Cruz-Funez’s vehicle on Interstate 10.  After the stop, he admitted to being in the country illegally.  Cruz-Funez was removed from the United States previously on four occasions with the last removal taking place in May 2013 from San Antonio, Texas.

United States Border Patrol and the Sulphur Police Department conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Dominic Rossetti prosecuted the case.

Updated November 30, 2018

Topics
Firearms Offenses
Immigration