FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 22, 2008
JUAN SOTO-RENOVA 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 May 21, 2008, before Senior U.S. District Judge Jack D. Shanstrom, JUAN SOTO-RENOVA, a 24-year-old citizen of Mexico, pled guilty to illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien. Sentencing is set for August 27, 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 January 8, 2008, an agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) learned that a Montana Highway Patrol Trooper in Big Horn County had conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle near Hardin January 6, 2008. The driver of the vehicle identified himself as Carlos Hernandez-Montero.
On January 8, 2008, Hernandez-Montero was transported to the U.S. Border Patrol Office in Billings. A fingerprint analysis identified him as SOTO-RENOVA, an individual who was removed from the United States on August 7, 2003, through El Paso, Texas.
Further review of the records revealed no evidence that SOTO-RENOVA ever requested permission to apply for re-entry into the United States from the Attorney General of the United States, or his successor, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security after being removed on August 7, 2003.
SOTO-RENOVA faces possible penalties of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and 3 years supervised release.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia K. Hurd 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.
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A copy of the Offer of Proof can be obtained by contacting Sally Frank at (406) 247-4638.
