Defendant was Previously Deported Seven Times and Arrested Six Times for DUI
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Oct. 1, 2019 - Jose Lopez-Ruiz, 39, an illegal alien from Guatemala, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Nashville, to re-entering the U.S. after having been previously deported, announced Don Cochran, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
In May 2019, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO) agents encountered Lopez-Ruiz while detaining another individual in Madison, Tennessee, as part of its Criminal Alien Program. During this encounter, Lopez-Ruiz fled on foot and was not apprehended. Approximately two months later, on July 9, 2019, ICE ERO, after receiving information on his whereabouts, engaged Lopez-Ruiz again in Madison. After initially resisting officers, Lopez-Ruiz was taken into custody.
Lopez-Ruiz is a native a Guatemala and has been physically deported from the United States on seven previous occasions beginning in 2000 and most recently in January 2018. While in the United States illegally, Lopez-Ruiz has been convicted of Driving Under the Influence on five occasions with another DUI offense still pending.
Lopez-Ruiz faces up to two years in prison when he is sentenced on Jan. 24, 2020.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman is prosecuting the case. # #
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
