PHOENIX (LAWFUEL) – Juan Hernandez-Guzman, 28, of Michoacan, Mexico, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Roslyn O. Silver to 132 months in federal prison on November 10, 2008. Hernandez-Guzman was convicted by a federal jury on June 3, 2008, for Illegal Re-Entry After Deportation.
Hernandez-Guzman is a repeat offender with a long criminal history in the United States. From 2000 to 2005, Hernandez-Guzman received 13 criminal convictions on a variety of charges including Theft, Possession of a Deadly Weapon, Driving Under the Influence, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Receipt of Stolen Property, Corporal Injury to a Spouse/Cohabitant, Illegal Entry, Vehicle Theft and Unlawful Intercourse with a Minor under 16 years of age. He was previously deported from the U.S. on March 7, 2006 and was instructed not to return to the U.S. unlawfully. Several days after his deportation, Hernandez-Guzman re-entered the U.S. and was found on March 12, 2006, near San Luis, Ariz.
Immediately subsequent to his arrest, Hernandez-Guzman began acting mentally ill. He did so by being non-responsive to questions and exhibiting odd physical behavior including forcefully striking his head against a table in the courtroom. However, he acted normally with prison staff and others when he was outside of the courtroom and Judge Silver determined that he was intentionally obstructing justice by feigning a mental illness.
The investigation in this case was conducted by U.S. Border Patrol, Yuma Sector. The prosecution was handled by Raymond K. Woo and Joshua P. Parecki, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Arizona, Phoenix.
CASE NUMBER: CR-06-0377-PHX-ROS
RELEASE NUMBER: 2008-294(Hernandez-Guzman)
