COLUMBUS, Ohio – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of Ohio have announced new immigration-related charges against five individuals, including a man facing multiple rape charges and another suspected of being a member of a violent transnational gang. Additionally, four other defendants have pleaded guilty to federal immigration crimes.
Among those charged is Sixto Garcia-Garcia, 34, a Mexican national accused of illegally reentering the United States. Garcia-Garcia was previously indicted in Franklin County on three counts of rape and one count of sexual battery. He also has an active arrest warrant in Texas for reckless homicide.
Authorities have also charged Milton Guevara-Cruz, 31, a citizen of El Salvador, who allegedly reentered the U.S. illegally after being deported. Court documents indicate that Guevara-Cruz is a known member of the 18th Street gang, a transnational criminal organization based in El Salvador. He is reportedly associated with the gang’s Tyni Locos Surenos clique and has been arrested in El Salvador on three prior occasions for gang-related activities.
In a separate indictment, Roberto Carlos Mar-Herrara, 33, a Mexican national, has been charged with illegal reentry after deportation. He is currently being held at the Franklin County Jail on felony drug trafficking charges.
Authorities also arrested Jose Antonio Alvarenga, 43, an El Salvadoran national, outside his home in New Lebanon, Ohio. Ever Amador-Medina, 37, a Honduran national, was detained at the Butler County Jail. He had previously been deported twice, once from Atlanta and once from Houston.
Meanwhile, four other defendants pleaded guilty this week in Columbus federal court to immigration-related offenses. They include Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, 46; Sergio Gutierrez-Hernandez, 32; Mario Juarez-Iribe, 44; and Carlos Gonzales Hernandez, 55.
Under federal law, illegal reentry into the United States is punishable by up to two years in prison. If a defendant has prior felony convictions or multiple misdemeanor offenses, the sentence can be increased to 10 years. Those with aggravated felony convictions could face up to 20 years behind bars.
The charges were announced by Kelly A. Norris, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, Acting Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office.
These cases are part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which is dedicated to investigating and prosecuting violations of federal immigration law.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
