FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
SILVINO FLOREZ-VALERIO PLEADS GUILTY IN U.S. FEDERAL COURT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Missoula on January 9, 2008, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, SILVINO FLOREZ-VALERIO, age 28, pled guilty to illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. Sentencing is set for April 11, 2008. He is currently detained.
In an Offer of Proof filed by the United States, the government stated it would have proved at trial the following:
On May 25, 2007, FLOREZ-VALERIO was stopped by a officer with the West Yellowstone Police Department for a traffic violation. FLOREZ-VALERIO told the officer his name was Leonel Amarillas Sanchez and produced a Washington driver's license. The officer ran the name and driver's license number through dispatch and received notice that Washington had no record of the driver's license number. As it was not uncommon for the officer to receive such a report, he issued FLOREZ-VALERIO a warning for the traffic violation and cleared the scene.
Approximately two hours later, the officer learned that Amarillas was actually FLOREZ-VALERIO and that he was wanted by the United State Marshals Service. The officer located the suspect vehicle in McDonald's parking lot, identified the individual as FLOREZ-VALERIO, and placed him under arrest.
A review of FLOREZ-VALERIO'S criminal history and immigration file confirmed that he is a citizen of Mexico, has six aliases, was convicted of illegal reentry in federal court in Utah in 2004, and has been deported from the United States on two prior occasions, once from El Paso, Texas on October 2, 2000, and once from San Ysidro, California on October 29, 2004. The file contains no evidence that FLOREZ-VALERIO applied for permission to reenter the United States with either the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security or the Attorney General.
FLOREZ-VALERIO faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Racicot prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the West Yellowstone Police Department and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
