DENVER (LAWFUEL)- Juan Lopez-Hector, age 27, a citizen of the Republic of Mexico, was sentenced to serve 46 months (nearly 4 years) in federal prison today by U.S. District Court Judge Wiley Y. Daniel for unlawful reentry of an aggravated felon, United States Attorney Troy Eid and Immigration and Customs Service (ICE) Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Copp announced. Judge Daniel ordered Lopez-Hector to be remanded into custody to begin serving his prison sentence immediately.
A federal grand jury in Denver returned an indictment on December 3, 2007 charging Juan Lopez-Hector with one count of unlawful reentry of an aggravated felon. Lopez-Hector plead guilty as charged on March 14, 2008. He was sentenced today (Friday, October 3, 2008).
According to the indictment, as well as the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on November 8, 2007, Lopez-Hector, a citizen of Mexico, was found by ICE at the Montrose County Jail, where he was being held for a DUI charge. Subsequent investigation revealed that the defendant was convicted in Superior Court of the State of California, County of Sacramento, of possession for sale of methamphetamine. Lopez-Hector was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment for the charge. On March 8, 2004, the defendant was deported to Mexico.
The defendant’s return to the United States following his 2004 deportation was without the permission of the United States. In addition to the conviction in Sacramento, Lopez-Hector was convicted in Palo Alto, California in 2002 for theft. He was also convicted in 2007 in Montrose, Colorado, for Driving While Ability Impaired.
“Criminal aliens come to Colorado at their peril,” said U.S. Attorney Troy Eid.
“Sentences like this send a strong message to deported criminals who are thinking about re-entering the United States,” said Jeffrey Copp, special agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Denver. “ICE, in partnership with U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, will ensure there are serious consequences for repeat offenders.” Copp oversees a four-state area that includes: Colorado, Montana, Utah and Wyoming.
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with support from the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office.
Lopez-Hector was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Wyatt Angelo and Rick Hosle
