Venezuelan National Convicted and Sentenced for Immigration Violations

WACO, Texas – A Venezuelan national was sentenced in a federal court in Waco Friday to time served after he pleaded guilty to one count of failure to notify of an address change and one count of failure to carry his alien registration on his person.

According to court documents, Jarrison Bladovino-Melano aka Jarrison Jovanniy Melano aka Yabanni Merlano, was arrested in Belton on July 13 for possession of marijuana and booked in the Bell County Jail. As he was determined to be an illegal alien, Immigration and Customs Enforcement lodged an immigration detainer with the jail. Further investigation revealed Bladovino-Melano was previously paroled into the United States by the U.S. Border Patrol in September 2022, and released so that he could travel to New York and reside at an address provided by his sponsor. One year later, Bladovino-Melano was encountered by the Frederick Police Department in Aurora, Colorado, where he was residing at the time instead of at the New York address. He was then found to be residing in Belton.

Bladovino-Melano was transferred into ICE custody on July 17. He pleaded guilty the next day in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Derek T. Gilliland, who sentenced Bladovino-Melano to time served. Bladovino-Melano remains in ICE custody for further processing.

U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas made the announcement.

ICE investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Gloff prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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