Defendant previously convicted of federal drug charges
BOSTON - A Dominican national was arrested yesterday and charged in federal court in Boston with illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Francisco Alberto Martinez, 49, a Dominican national residing in Peabody, was charged with unlawful reentry of a deported alien. He appeared in federal court in Boston yesterday and was ordered detained.
According to court documents, Martinez first unlawfully entered the United States on an unknown date. In December 1996, he became a legal permanent resident (LPR), but in 2011, he was convicted in federal court in Boston of cocaine conspiracy and sentenced to 66 months in prison. Upon completion of his sentence in 2014, Martinez lost his LPR status and was deported to the Dominican Republic. Martinez was recently encountered by law enforcement in Peabody and determined to be illegally present in the United States.
The charge of illegal reentry provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, and Martinez will be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling; Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Peabody Police Chief Thomas M. Griffin made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig Estes of Lelling’s Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
