DOMINICAN REPUBLIC MAN SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR ON ILLEGALLY REENTERY CONVICTION

St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Cristian Lopez-Moncion, 42, of the Dominican Republic, was sentenced by Chief District Judge Robert A. Molloy to one year of incarceration on his conviction of Illegal Reentry into the United States of a Removed Alien after pleading guilty on October 6, 2023.

According to court documents, on February 23, 2023, Lopez-Moncion was seen in the vicinity of Emile Griffith Ballpark in St. Thomas by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Officer who was familiar with Lopez-Moncion and was aware of that he had been deported from the United States in 2019. Further investigation confirmed that the individual in question was, in fact, Lopez-Moncion. After his arrest on May 4, 2023, Lopez-Moncion admitted that he had been deported from the United States.

The case was investigated by United States Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations and Department of Homeland Security Enforcement and Removal and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Evan Rikhye.