A Mexican national has been sentenced for illegally reentering the United States, according to Eastern District of Texas Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Heladio Ruchon Rocha-Tellez, 31, admitted guilt to illegal reentry after removal and received a 16-month federal prison sentence from U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on April 22, 2025.
Court documents revealed that on December 19, 2023, Beaumont law enforcement responded to a burglary in progress at a local laundromat. Upon arrival, officers found Rocha-Tellez hiding behind the counter, carrying a large sum of cash in his pocket. Immigration records indicated that Rocha-Tellez, a Mexican national, had been deported from the United States in 2015 and twice in 2022.
Besides immigration offenses, Rocha-Tellez was found guilty of state burglary in Jefferson County court and was sentenced to 12 months in prison on November 19, 2024. Judge Crone determined the sentences would run consecutively, with Rocha-Tellez serving his federal prison time after completing the state sentence.
This legal action falls under Operation Take Back America, a national initiative designed to use the Department of Justice’s full resources to address illegal immigration, destroy cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime. The operation pools efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
The Department of Homeland Security and the Beaumont Police Department conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Tommy L. Coleman prosecuted the case, with support from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.
