David X. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England, announced that Dwayne Claud Singh, a 37-year-old Jamaican citizen residing in New Haven, has been charged with illegally reentering the United States after deportation.
Singh was arrested and appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven. He was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for July 28.
Court documents and statements indicate that Singh was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court in 2014 for drug, weapon, and forgery offenses and sentenced to five years imprisonment. The U.S. Immigration Court ordered his removal to Jamaica in December 2017 due to violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and he was deported in January 2018.
Singh allegedly reentered the U.S., using Connecticut and California identification under the name “Kevin Anthony Smith,” as well as a Facebook profile under “Poochie Gully.” He also faces an active state arrest warrant for breach of peace and threatening offenses issued by the Connecticut Superior Court in March 2023.
If convicted of unlawful reentry, Singh could face up to 20 years imprisonment.
U.S. Attorney Sullivan emphasized that a complaint is only a charge and not evidence of guilt; defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation is conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel is prosecuting the case.
This case falls under Operation Take Back America, an initiative by the Department of Justice aimed at combating illegal immigration, eliminating cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protecting communities from violent crime perpetrators through coordinated efforts from various task forces.
