Defendant had a prior deportation in 2012
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Guatemalan national man entered a guilty plea to the felony offense of Reentry of a Removed Alien, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Domingo Celestino Pacheco-Us, 37, faces up to two years of incarceration when he is sentenced on Feb. 19, 2019. Pacheco-Us is also subject to deportation proceedings at the conclusion of any sentence. Stuart commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I applaud ICE agents for ensuring our immigration laws are followed by individuals entering the United States," said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “ICE is a critically important enforcement tool for the United States. We have been and will continue to prosecute those that violate those laws and enter this great country illegally."
On Aug. 15, 2018, Pacheco-Us was found in Ripley, Jackson County, West Virginia by members of ICE after receiving a tip that individuals were in the country illegally and working at a restaurant in Ripley, West Virginia. Pursuant to this investigation, ICE agents approached Pacheco-Us and he surrendered to them, offering a Guatemalan identification document. Agents immediately confirmed that Pacheco-Us was not in the United States legally, and took him into federal custody.
Pacheco-Us fingerprints matched him to a 2012 prior encounter where he was found in South Komelik, Arizona on October 8, 2012 and deported from the United States to Guatemala on Oct. 31, 2012. He illegally reentered the United States prior to his capture in 2018. Pacheco-Us had not obtained permission to legally enter the United States and had not sought legal status or citizenship. Pacheco-Us admitted to ICE agents that he was a Guatemalan citizen and subject to deportation proceedings both in 2012 and also in 2018.
Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes is responsible for the prosecution. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger presided over the hearing.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
