A federal grand jury in Columbus, Ohio, has indicted two individuals in separate immigration-related cases. The charges involve a previously convicted felon and a repeat offender of immigration laws.
Carlos Gonzales-Hernandez, a 55-year-old citizen of El Salvador, faces charges for illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony. His court documents reveal that he was detained in January 2025 following a traffic stop in Madison County and subsequently transferred into ICE custody. Previously, Gonzales-Hernandez had been deported from the United States after serving a six-year prison sentence for sex offenses, having been convicted on three counts of gross sexual imposition by the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
In another case, Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, aged 46 and a citizen of Honduras with no legal status in the U.S., is charged with possession of firearms or ammunition as an illegal alien and illegally reentering the country. Rodriguez-Guzman has been removed from the United States multiple times and either deported to Honduras or allowed to return voluntarily to Mexico. His court documents indicate that he was arrested in July 2024 during a vehicle stop in Cambridge, Ohio, where law enforcement found weapons including a handgun and double-barrel shotgun along with ammunition.
Under federal law, illegal reentry into the United States can result in up to two years imprisonment. If an individual has multiple prior misdemeanor charges or previous convictions for aggravated felonies, penalties can increase to ten or twenty years respectively.
The announcement came from Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge at ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director at ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Detroit Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Sheila G. Lafferty will represent these cases on behalf of the government.
The indictments are part of efforts by the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force dedicated to investigating and prosecuting violations related to immigration laws.
"An indictment merely contains allegations," it was noted by officials involved with these cases. "Defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law."
