ILLEGAL ALIEN SENTENCED TO 5 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR UNLAWFUL REENTRY INTO THE UNITED STATES
DENVER – Cuatemoc Arias-Rodriguez, a/k/a Jesus Leyba-Ramirez, a/k/a Jorge Rios Santana, age 34, of Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced today by U.S. District Court Judge Lewis T. Babcock to serve 60 months (5 years) in federal prison for unlawful reentry after deportation following an aggravated felony conviction, United States Attorney David Gaouette and ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations Denver field director John Longshore announced. Arias-Rodriguez, who appeared at the hearing in custody, was remanded to start serving his sentence. This is the fifth time the defendant has been convicted and sentenced for illegal re-entry.
Cuatemoc Arias-Rodriguez was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver on March 22, 2010. He pled guilty before Judge Babcock on May 4, 2010. He was sentenced today, July 22, 2010.
According to the stipulated facts contained in the plea agreement, on February 26, 2010, the defendant, who was born in Sinaloa, Mexico, was encountered by a federal immigration enforcement agent in the Denver County Jail. The defendant had been arrested by the Denver Police Department on February 23, 2010 for making a false report using a false name. On March 1, 2010, Arias-Rodriguez was released by the Denver County Sheriff and placed in ICE custody. The defendant then stated that he last illegally crossed the Mexico/United States border in January 2010, near San Ysidro, California. A check of ICE records reflects that the defendant was deported and/or removed from the United States numerous times since 1995. He was last deported on December 28, 2008.
Arias-Rodriguez has five separate prior criminal convictions, including: a 1995 conviction for possession of schedule II controlled substance with intent to distribute in Superior Court in San Francisco, California; a 1998 conviction for illegally reentry after deportation subsequent to an aggravated felony in U.S. District Court in Arizona; a 2001 conviction for illegal reentry in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California; a 2003 conviction for illegal re-entry in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California; and a 2005 conviction for illegal reentry in the Southern District of California.
“This latest conviction shows firsthand how various law enforcement agencies work together to remove criminal aliens from our streets,” said John P. Longshore, field office director of the ICE Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations in Denver. “ICE continues that law enforcement process by working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to ensure that re-entry laws are strictly enforced.” Longshore oversees the states of Colorado and Wyoming.
This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The defendant was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Brown.
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