FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, October 15, 2007
SEVERO LOPEZ-CASTRO 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 Great Falls, on October 15, 2007, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, SEVERO LOPEZ-CASTRO, a 27-year-old citizen of Mexico, appeared for sentencing. LOPEZ-CASTRO was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 12 months
- Special Assessment: $100
- Supervised Release: 2 years
LOPEZ-CASTRO was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to re-entry of a previously deported alien.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On April 22, 2007, LOPEZ-CASTRO, a Mexican citizen, appeared at the Coutts Port of Entry northbound to Canada. Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) refused LOPEZ-CASTRO entry into Canada and returned him to the United States Sweetgrass Port of Entry.
Upon return to the Port of Sweetgrass, an agent with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) determined that LOPEZ-CASTRO was an alien not authorized to be within the United States.
A fingerprint analysis revealed that LOPEZ-CASTRO had been apprehended approximately 44 times prior to the current arrest at Sweetgrass. A review of immigration records found that LOPEZ-CASTRO had been deported from the United States to Mexico on June 2, 2003, and again on September 15, 2003.
A further review of immigration records revealed no record that LOPEZ-CASTRO had, since removal, applied for or received the permission of the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to apply for admission to reenter the United States.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that LOPEZ-CASTRO will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, LOPEZ-CASTRO 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 Elizabeth A. Horsman prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
