Juan Carlos Padilla Santos, a 50-year-old Dominican national, has been sentenced to 100 months in prison following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. The investigation revealed that Padilla Santos had illegally reentered the United States after being deported twice and was subject to a third removal order.
Padilla Santos was convicted of murder in the Dominican Republic in 2016 but fled before serving his sentence. After returning to the U.S., he was convicted in 2018 for cocaine possession and bail jumping, which led to another deportation. Authorities later accused him of faking his own death and entering the U.S. illegally a third time.
“Juan Carlos Padilla Santos exhibited time and time again his disregard for our immigration laws needed for public safety,” said HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “With a history that includes murder, narcotics possession, and even apparently faking his own death, this defendant took repeated steps to illegally enter and reenter the U.S. Padilla Santos now faces a significant sentence for his actions.”
More information about the case can be found on Justice.gov: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/dominican-national-previously-convicted-murder-and-narcotics-offenses-sentenced-100
