FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 17, 2007
JOSE LUIS ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR SENTENCED IN U.S. DISTRICT COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Billings, on August 16, 2007, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JOSE LUIS ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR, age 30, appeared for sentencing. ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 90 days
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 6 months
ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to illegal re-entry of a deported alien.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On June 9, 2007, a Montana Highway Patrolman stopped a vehicle for a traffic violation near Billings. The vehicle was occupied by six men, all of whom could not provide any paperwork to indicate they were in the United States legally. Among the passengers was ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR. ALVAREZ- BALTAZAR admitted to an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that he was illegally in the country and that he was an alien and citizen of Mexico.
After being fingerprinted, a review of immigration records revealed that ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR had been deported from the United States on November 20, 2000, through Lukeville, Arizona.
Further review of the immigration records revealed that ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR did not have the consent of the Attorney General or his successor, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, to re-enter the United States after being deported.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, ALVAREZ-BALTAZAR does have the opportunity to earn a sentence reduction for "good behavior." However, this reduction will not exceed 15% of the overall sentence.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between Montana Highway Patrol and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
