Columbia, South Carolina ---- United States Attorney Sherri A. Lydon announced today that Elder Jose Cruz-Arteaga, 45, a citizen of Honduras, pled guilty in federal court to illegally re-entering the United States after having been deported.
Evidence presented to the court showed that Cruz was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)- Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) agents on July 22, 2018, while he was incarcerated at the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Columbia on unrelated charges. In 2002, Cruz was convicted of Felony Possession of a Controlled Substance (heroin) in Colorado, then deported. He reentered the United States, and in 2004 he was convicted of Felony Possession/Purchase for Sale Narcotics (cocaine) in California and deported again.
Cruz faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. Chief United States District Judge Terry L. Wooten accepted the guilty plea and will sentence Cruz after receiving and reviewing a presentence report prepared by the United States Probation Office.
The case was investigated by agents of ICE-ERO, which is a part of the Department of Homeland Security. 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
