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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, October 24, 2007

JESUS CERON-GONZALEZ 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 October 24, 2007, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, JESUS CERON-GONZALEZ, age 27, appeared for sentencing. CERON-GONZALEZ was sentenced to a term of:

CERON-GONZALEZ 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 July 7, 2007, CERON-GONZALEZ was stopped for speeding by the Montana Highway Patrol near Roundup. He was cited for speeding, having no vehicle insurance, and was using a false name. Because CERON-GONZALEZ had a limited ability to converse in English, an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was contacted.

CERON-GONZALEZ was fingerprinted and thereby identified through immigration records as having been previously deported from the United States on December 14, 2006, through El Paso, Texas.

Further investigation revealed that CERON-GONZALEZ 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 having been deported.

Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that CERON-GONZALEZ will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, CERON-GONZALEZ 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 the Montana Highway Patrol and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.