Twice deported Mexican felon indicted for illegally re-entering US

ORLANDO, Fla. – An illegally present Mexican national previously convicted of felony burglary and twice deported from the United States was indicted in the Middle District of Florida May 31 on a felony charge of illegal re-entry after removal.

According to court documents, Luis Bernardo Gonzalez-Martinez, 29, was convicted of burglary May 26, 2009. He was removed from the United States in June 2012 and again in June 2013. On April 1, 2017, immigration officers encountered Gonzalez-Martinez, a member of the Sureños (Sur 13) street gang, back in the United States illegally.

Since his deportation was subsequent to his conviction for an aggravated felony, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case will be prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina R. Downes, on assignment from the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, ICE, with the office of Acting U.S. Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, Middle District Florida.