Rebecca C. Lutzko United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio | U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
Federal grand juries in the Northern District of Ohio have indicted five men on immigration-related charges, according to an announcement from federal authorities. The cases involve four Honduran nationals and one Mexican national who were charged in separate, unrelated cases.
Marcos Bardales-Lopez, 26, Rigoberto Gomez-Arguijo, 45, and Oscar Mendoza, 52—all citizens of Honduras—were each charged with illegal reentry after removal. Bardales-Lopez was previously removed from the United States at least once, most recently on December 6, 2019, and was found in Maumee, Ohio on January 12. Gomez-Arguijo had last been removed on October 28, 2010, and was located in Marion, Ohio on January 8. Mendoza’s most recent removal was January 17, 2008; he was also found in Maumee on January 12.
In addition to these cases, Jimy Antonio Portillo-Ramirez, a 23-year-old Honduran citizen found in Vickery (Sandusky County) on January 6, and Jose Alfredo Reyes-Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Mexican citizen located in Oak Harbor (Ottawa County) on January 18, were each charged with two counts of possession of a fraudulent identification document.
Investigations for these indictments were conducted by U.S. Border Patrol-Sandusky Bay Station and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Assistant United States Attorneys Ava Rotell Dustin, Dexter L. Phillips, and Frank H. Spryszak are prosecuting the cases for the Northern District of Ohio.
Authorities emphasized that “an indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”
The indictments are part of Operation Take Back America. According to officials: “These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.”
