Gulfport, Miss. - Eugenio Delgado-Rivera, 48, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced on Tuesday, June 5, 2018, to 21 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for unlawfully re-entering the United States as an alien previously convicted of an aggravated felony, announced U.S. Attorney Mike Hurst and Joseph A. Banco Jr., Acting Chief Patrol Agent of the U.S. Border Patrol’s New Orleans Sector.
Delgado-Rivera was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden, following his guilty plea and conviction on Feb. 22, 2018. Delgado-Rivera pled guilty to unlawfully returning to the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony. In 2007, he was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. After imprisonment for his drug trafficking crime, he was removed from the United States in 2009.
After completion of his prison sentence, Delgado-Rivera will be subject to Department of Homeland Security removal proceedings. Thereafter, if he were to again unlawfully re-enter the U.S. during the 3-year period following his prison sentence, he would be subject to a separate, further penalty in addition to any other prosecution.
On Dec. 28, 2017, a rented Nissan Altima that Delgado-Rivera was driving, was stopped by a member of the South Mississippi Metro Enforcement Team on Interstate-10 in Jackson County, Mississippi, for speeding in a construction zone. Delgado-Rivera did not have a driver’s license and provided a Mexican identification document with a different name. The U.S. Border Patrol was notified, and a Border Patrol Agent responded to the scene.
Delgado-Rivera admitted that he was illegally present in the United States. Official record checks revealed that he originally was ordered removed by a U.S. Immigration Judge, and had been physically removed from the United States on October 5, 2000. Thereafter, Delgado-Rivera unlawfully returned to the United States, and, was formally removed again in 2009, after serving time in federal prison for his 2007 drug trafficking conviction. Record checks also revealed that Delgado-Rivera had used, or been known by, over 10 different names during his time illegally present in the United States.
New Orleans Sector Border Patrol Chief Joseph Banco stated: "Our goal is to enhance border security in the Gulf Coast Region through our continue efforts with our federal, state and local law enforcement partners."
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Gautier Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Stan Harris was the prosecutor for the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
