FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 13, 2008
EDUARDO IBARRA-PALACIOS 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 March 13, 2008, before U.S. District Judge Sam E. Haddon, EDUARDO IBARRA-PALACIOS, age 31, appeared for sentencing. IBARRA-PALACIOS was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 20 months
- Special Assessment: $100
IBARRA-PALACIOS 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:
At approximately 2:00 a.m. on September 15, 2007, a Great Falls Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle. The driver, later identified as IBARRA-PALACIOS, provided the officer with a fictitious name of Eduardo Sanchez.
During a search of the vehicle, the officer located a Texas identification card in the visor which bore the name of Eduardo Ibarra. When questioned as to why he had lied about his identity, IBARRA-PALACIOS stated that he was afraid of being deported again.
A short time later, an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a telephonic interview with IBARRA-PALACIOS to determine his alienage. When questioned about his citizenship, IBARRA-PALACIOS admitted to being illegally in the United States as well as having been previously deported. He stated that he had been born in Mexico and that at the age of 9 his mother had brought him to the United States.
A review of immigration records revealed that IBARRA-PALACIOS had previously been deported through the Brownsville, Texas, Port of Entry on February 12, 2007. A criminal history check revealed numerous arrests and subsequent convictions, which included a felony burglary of a habitation on January 19, 1998, in Cameron County, Texas (considered a crime of violence); and felony possession of a controlled substance (cocaine), on February 20, 2005, in Galveston, Texas.
Upon further questioning, IBARRA-PALACIOS stated that after his previous deportation (February 12, 2007) he had returned to the United States a short time later. IBARRA-PALACIOS stated that he had returned to the United States by driving through the Laredo, Texas, Port of Entry and claiming that he was a United States citizen.
A review of Department of Homeland Security records do not indicate that IBARRA-PALACIOS ever received permission to reenter the United States from the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that IBARRA-PALACIOS will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, IBARRA-PALACIOS 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 Great Falls Police Department.
