Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Beth Drake stated today that Bartolome Olivar-Barrera, age 40, of El Salvador, has entered a guilty plea in federal court in Columbia, to Illegal Re-Entry, a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(2) and (b). United States District Chief Judge Terry L. Wooten, of Columbia, accepted the guilty plea and will impose sentence after he has reviewed the presentence report, which will be prepared by the U.S. Probation Office.
Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that Olivar-Barrera was encountered by agents from ICE-Homeland Security Investigations on February 4, 2017, at the Lexington County Detention Center in Lexington, SC, after he was arrested for Driving Under the Influence. He was using the alias “Ever Hernandez “ when arrested but an investigation revealed his true name and that he is a citizen of El Salvador. It was also determined that Olivar-Barrera had been convicted of Common Law Robbery in 1998 in North Carolina while using the alias “ Jose Gomez-Olivar". He had been deported on May 30, 1999, using this alias, pursuant to an order of removal then re-entered the United States without permission.
Ms. Drake stated the maximum penalty for Illegal Re-Entry is imprisonment for 20 years and/or a fine of $250,000.
The case was investigated by agents from ICE-Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II of the Columbia office is prosecuting the case. ##
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
