LA feds charge previously deported defendants with being in U.S. illegally
LOS ANGELES (KESQ) - Federal prosecutors in Los Angeles, working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other law enforcement partners, have filed charges against 17 defendants who illegally re-entered the United States after being removed, officials said today.
Many of the defendants charged were previously convicted of felony offenses before they were removed from the United States, offenses that include assault with bodily injury. One of the defendants is suspected of murder while another was arrested on suspicion of committing assault with intent to rape, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The crime of being found in the United States following removal carries a base sentence of up to two years in federal prison. Defendants who were removed after being convicted of a felony face a maximum 10-year sentence and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison, prosecutors noted.
Some of the cases recently filed in L.A. federal court include:
-- Jescar Amarzca-Olgiuen, 51, of Mexico, charged with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal. Amarzca-Olgiuen was charged after he was arrested in Orange County on Wednesday as a suspect in the 2023 murder of a man who died from multiple gunshot wounds. His criminal history includes a felony conviction in 2013 in San Diego federal court for fraud and misuse of visas and permits, for which he was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison.
-- Marvin Campos Cerna, 29, of El Salvador, charged with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal. Campos was charged after he was arrested in West Hollywood on March 7 for allegedly committing assault with intent to rape, false imprisonment, sodomy and kidnapping. Prior to his arrest, Campos was convicted in 2014 for assault with bodily injury, for which he was sentenced to six years in California state prison.
-- Victor Navarro-Cota, 23, and Tereso Guadalupe Martinez-Reyes, 20, both of Mexico, arrested near Barstow on March 13 while driving a black Chevrolet Suburban allegedly filled with 478 pairs of Nike Jordan 6 Rings shoes, which retail for approximately $170 per pair, totaling $81,260. Both
Martinez-Reyes and Navarro-Cota were in the U.S. illegally and each previously was deported last month, officials said. Navarro-Cota's arraignment is scheduled for April 22. Martinez-Reyes' arraignment is scheduled for April 1.
