NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Peter Strasser announced today that JOSE ARMANDO VILLALOBOS (“VILLALOBOS"), age 49, pleaded guilty on Oct. 31, 2019 to a one-count indictment for preventing or hampering his departure from the United States after he was ordered removed by a U.S. Immigration Court in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1253(a)(1)(C).
According to the indictment, VILLALOBOS, who had an order of removal pending against him from a U.S. Immigration Court, hampered his removal when he fled immigration officers as they tried to arrest him on July 25, 2019. VILLALOBOS, faces a maximum term of imprisonment of four years, a maximum fine of $250,000, a maximum term of supervised release of one year, and a mandatory $100 special assessment. Judge Nannette Brown set his sentencing for Dec. 12, 2019.
U.S. Attorney Strasser praised the work of the United States Department of Homeland Security in investigating this matter. Assistant U. S. Attorney Spiro G. Latsis is in charge of the prosecution.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
