Federal Prosecutors Charge This Week 21 Defendants with Being Illegal Aliens Found in the United States Following Removal

LOS ANGELES – Federal prosecutors working alongside with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement partners have filed charges against 21 defendants in the last week who allegedly were found in the U.S. following removal, the Justice Department announced today.   

Many of the defendants charged were previously convicted of felony offenses prior to their removal from the United States, including alien smuggling, burglary, grand theft, and assault with a deadly weapon.

The crime of being found in the United States following removal carries a base sentence of up to two years in federal prison. Defendants who were removed after being convicted of a felony face a maximum 10-year sentence and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

Some of the recently filed cases are summarized below:

• David Casas-Herrera, 45, of Mexico, was charged via a federal criminal complaint with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal. Casas-Herrera was removed from the U.S. in 1997, 2001, twice in 2003, twice in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2022. His criminal history includes convictions in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California in 2006 and 2022 of alien smuggling, for which he was sentenced to 15 months and 21 months in federal prison, respectively. He also has two prior convictions for being an illegal alien found in the U.S. following removal: in Arizona federal court in 2003 and in San Diego federal court 2010 for which he was sentenced to terms of 60 days in prison each time. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Scally of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.
• Marta Stoican, 40, of Romania, was charged via a federal criminal complaint with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal. Stoican, who was removed from the U.S. in 2022, was charged after being arrested by the Baldwin Park Police Department on suspicion of burglary on April 5. Stoican has a criminal history that includes convictions in 2017 for grand theft, possession of shoplifting gear, and theft. Special Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Bisland of the Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
• Juan Solorzano Reyes, 40, of Mexico, who was charged via a federal criminal complaint with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal.  Reyes, who was removed from the U.S. in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, and 2020, was charged after being convicted in Orange County Superior Court in 2011 of possession for sale of methamphetamine, for which he was sentenced to four years in California state prison, and in 2022 of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, and vandalism, for which he was sentenced to 180 days in California state prison. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Staples of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.

Criminal complaints contain allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating these matters.

These cases are 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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).