FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
RUBEN COTA-BECERRA 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 Billings on January 28, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, RUBEN COTA-BECERRA, age 43, pled guilty to illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. Sentencing is set for April 30, 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 August 24, 2007, COTA-BECERRA was encountered by Yellowstone County Sheriff's deputies during a traffic stop for failing to obey a traffic signal in Billings. COTA-BECERRA was arrested for the traffic violation and transported to the Yellowstone County Detention Facility.
When interviewed, it was determined that COTA-BECERRA illegally in the United States. A fingerprint analysis identified COTA-BECERRA as a citizen of Mexico and revealed that he had been deported from the United States on September 25, 2000, through the Port of Nogales, Arizona.
Further investigation revealed that COTA-BECERRA 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.
COTA-BECERRA faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Seykora prosecuted the case for the United States.
The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Yellowstone County Sheriff's Office and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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