Apolinar Armando Lopez-Gutierrez, a 38-year-old Mexican national, admitted to reentering the United States illegally after previously being deported in April 2024. The admission came in a West Virginia court following an investigation that linked him to an ongoing case in Tennessee.
Court documents revealed that a stabbing investigation in Tennessee led authorities to Lopez-Gutierrez, believed to be an associate of the primary suspect in the case. He was located living and working in Sutton, West Virginia.
Lopez-Gutierrez faces a potential prison sentence of up to two years. The sentence will be determined by a federal district court judge who will take into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other legal factors.
The legal proceedings are being overseen by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Cogar. Investigations were conducted by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Marshals Service.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice. The operation aims to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime. It pulls together the resources of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided over the case.
