Jamaican National Sentenced For Making False Statements At The Border

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

BUFFALO, N.Y.- Acting U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy, Jr. announced today that LaTanya Notice, 42, of Mount Vernon, NY, who was convicted of making false statements to federal officers, was sentenced to one year probation by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Lamarque, who handled the case, stated that on January 23, 2013, the defendant, a Jamaican citizen with legal permanent resident status in the United States, attempted to cross into the United States from Canada at the Peace Bridge with a man in possession of a valid United States Passport. Notice claimed that her traveling companion was her brother and they were returning to their home in New York City.  Standard database checks revealed that the man was in fact Horace Tajah, an aggravated felon from Jamaica. In 2010, Tajah, who was the defendant’s husband at the time, was convicted in the Southern District of New York of drug, gun, and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Tajah was sentenced to 72 months in prison, deported to Jamaica on December 28, 2012, and banned from the United States for life. 

In June 2017, Horace Tajah, who was convicted of reentering the United States after a conviction for an aggravated felony, was sentenced to time served (four years).

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by United States Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Rose Brophy.