CHARLESTON W.Va. - Three men entered guilty pleas for federal immigration offenses, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart. Neftali Catalan-Garcia, 33, Jose Aleman-Pineda, 49, and Ezequiel De Dios-Delgado, 24, all pled guilty to the felony offense of reentry of a removed alien. At the request of all three defendants, the court immediately proceeded to sentencing, where all men were sentenced and given credit for the time they had previously served. All three men were immediately remanded to Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for that agency to begin administrative deportation proceedings.
“Four prior removals and a felony conviction between them," said United States Attorney Mike Stuart. “We will continue to prosecute line skippers. No one likes a line skipper whether it’s at the border or Disney World. Those wanting to live in the United States must abide by our immigration laws and the process to enter our country legally."
Neftali Catalan-Garcia was believed to be working in Nitro, West Virginia when ICE agents received information that he was in the country illegally. A targeted investigation located him on December 4, 2019. Catalan-Garcia admitted being in the United States illegally and that he had been previously removed from the United States to Guatemala. Catalan Garcia is a citizen of Guatemala. His fingerprints matched him to one prior removal and a prior felony conviction in United States District Court in Texas for the misuse of a social security number. Catalan-Garcia has been in federal custody for approximately seven months.
Jose Aleman-Pineda and Ezequiel De Dios-Delgado were both found in South Charleston, West Virginia after a targeted investigation by ICE on Jan. 30, 2020. Aleman-Pineda admitted being in the United States illegally and his fingerprints matched two prior removals from Texas. He is a citizen of Honduras and has been in federal custody since Jan. 30, 2020. Delgado also admitted being in the United States illegally and has a prior from Arizona. He is a citizen of Mexico. Like Aleman-Pineda, Dios-Delgado has been in federal custody since Jan. 30, 2020.
Senior United States District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. imposed the sentences. Assistant United States Attorney Erik S. Goes handled the prosecutions.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
