News Releases and Statements
News Releases and Statements
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas sentenced Hector Hernandez, a 40-year-old Falfurrias resident, to 66 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hernandez pleaded guilty to the charges Sept. 21.
The investigation revealed that Bryan Contreras-Avalos aka “Anonimo,” “Humilde” and “Malia,” is a member of the notorious street gang known as La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, and participated in at least three murders.
Kailey Olson, 30, of Sioux City pleaded guilty Jan. 12 in federal court to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Edgar Garcia-Torres, 22, was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, Garcia-Torres is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment.
Ian Fried, 57, received the lengthy prison sentence at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Jan. 13.
In August 2021, Miguel Almonte, 42, was convicted of human trafficking. He received a sentence of 10 years in prison, with all but a year and a half suspended, to be followed by five years’ probation.
Jaycob Andrew Bustamante, 21, was sentenced Jan. 10 to 204 months in prison to be followed by 30 years of supervised release.
A federal grand jury in Del Rio returned an indictment charging Jose Guadalupe Martinez-Ortiz, 28, of Garden City, Kansas.
According to court documents, Melvin L. Barahona-Godoy, 27, of Guatemala, and Yoryi Alexis Perez, 33, of the Dominican Republic, led several people to the Rio Grande River, Sept. 21, 2017.
Jose Montes-Solorio, 35, was flown from the Toledo Express Airport in Ohio to the Valley International Airport in Texas, Jan. 10. On the same date, ERO Harlingen escorted him via ground transportation to the border and turned him over to Mexican authorities.
While investigating an ICE tip line lead, the ERO San Diego deportation officer worked with U.S. marshals to locate Michael James Pratt, 40, a foreign national on the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted Fugitives list. Spanish authorities arrested Pratt in Madrid, Dec. 21, 2022; he is being held in Spain pending extradition to the United States.
Benito Arevalo Gochez Ruballo, 47, and Erika Beatriz Rivera Crespin, 35, were removed to their home country via ICE Air Operations charter flight. Both were taken into custody by law enforcement officials shortly after the flight landed in El Salvador where they stand accused.
Arianny Paola Vega-Escalona, 24, and Yubisay Delimar Sandoval Sequera, 32, departed Miami International Airport to their destination of Harlingen, Texas, where they were turned over to authorities in Mexico via the Brownsville port of entry.
Jefferson Ferreira de Almeida, 29, was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol after illegally entering the United States near San Luis, Arizona in 2021, given a Notice to Appear, and subsequently provided a recognizance release pending future removal proceedings in June 2021.
Carlos J. Arreguin, 37, was flown from Chicago on a flight coordinated by ICE’s Air Operations Unit to the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas. On the same date, ERO Harlingen escorted him via ground transportation to the border and turned him over to Mexican authorities at the Gateway Port of Entry in Brownsville, Texas, without incident.
Officers with ICE's ERO New York City field office arrested Gazmir Xhurxhi, Jan. 9. Xhurxhi is a noncitizen who overstayed his visa in the United States and is wanted for fraud in Albania.
Idalia Guzman, a 47-year-old resident of Pharr, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to eight years in prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release.
HSI Baltimore’s Human Exploitation Group wraps up monumental year in fight against human trafficking
HSI Baltimore’s commitment to public safety makes a tangible impact on the Eastern Seaboard and 2022 was a year of significant achievements, especially in human trafficking investigations conducted by HSI Baltimore’s Human Exploitation Group (HEG).
Pires de Mello, 26, who had been previously encountered and placed into removal proceedings by U.S. Border Patrol near Hidalgo, Texas, July 26, 2019, was arrested by the Framingham Police Department for unlicensed use of an automobile, Jan. 8, 2022.
Tony “Klownman” Torres, a 53-year-old resident of Harlingen, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 10 years in prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Torres pleaded guilty to the charges Nov. 8.
Ascencion Garza Jr., a 63-year-old resident of Hebbronville, pleaded guilty in the Southern District of Texas to possession with intent to distribute approximately 16 kilograms of cocaine.
Edwing Edgardo Ramos-Alvarado, 39, entered the United States at an unknown date and location without being admitted or paroled by an immigration officer.
Tivurcio Serrato Colorado, a 36-year-old unlawfully present Mexican national, was flown from Alexandria, Louisiana, to the Valley International Airport in Harlingen, Texas on Jan. 4.
Nosuk Kim, 61, of Newport News, was sentenced to 52 months in prison Jan. 5 and ordered to pay a $200,000 fine for evading the assessment of her 2015- and 2016-income tax returns.
Oscar Barrera, 29, was sentenced Jan. 9 to 220 months in prison. Barrera pleaded guilty April 4, 2022, to one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography.
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