FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
DIEGO CRUZ-MENDOZA 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 July 23, 2008, before Chief U.S. District Judge Richard F. Cebull, DIEGO CRUZ-MENDOZA, a 26-year-old citizen of Mexico, appeared for sentencing. CRUZ-MENDOZA was sentenced to a term of:
- Prison: 21 months
- Special Assessment: $200
- Supervised Release: 3 years
CRUZ-MENDOZA was sentenced in connection with his guilty plea to illegal 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 January 2, 2008, a Montana Highway Patrol trooper in Dawson County conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle near Glendive. The driver and sole occupant of the vehicle, later identified as CRUZ-MENDOZA, provided the trooper with a permanent resident card and social security card belonging to another person.
An agent with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was contacted by the Montana Highway Patrol regarding the subject. A review of immigration records found the subject to be CRUZ-MENDOZA, who had a prior deportation on April 7, 2007. A fingerprint analysis also confirmed the subject was CRUZ-MENDOZA and that he had been removed from the United States on April 7, 2007, through El Paso, Texas.
A further review of immigration records did not reveal any evidence that CRUZ-MENDOZA had received permission from the Attorney General or the Secretary of Homeland Security to reenter the United States after being removed on April 7, 2007.
CRUZ-MENDOZA finally admitted that he possessed the false documents knowing that they had been forged.
Because there is no parole in the federal system, the "truth in sentencing" guidelines mandate that CRUZ-MENDOZA will likely serve all of the time imposed by the court. In the federal system, CRUZ-MENDOZA 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.
