The U.S. District Court in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has sentenced six foreign nationals for unlawfully reentering the United States after being previously deported. The cases were presided over by Judge Eric F. Melgren.
Raul Luna-Gonzalez, a 30-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced to 21 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Luna-Gonzalez had been arrested for driving under the influence and transporting an open container when his fingerprints revealed his illegal status and prior deportation in April 2019. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christian Harris handled the prosecution.
Yair de Jesus Trejo-Mendoza, aged 37 and also from Mexico, received an 18-month prison sentence with three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to unlawful reentry. His arrest record included multiple offenses such as driving under the influence and eluding law enforcement. Trejo-Mendoza had been deported three times before: in 2008, 2015, and 2023. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Greenough and Michele Hulgaard prosecuted his case.
Benigno Villezcas Alcantar, a 42-year-old Mexican national, was sentenced to 27 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for unlawful reentry after being arrested for conjoint robbery. He admitted to returning to the U.S. in 2023 following a previous deportation in August 2015. Assistant U.S. Attorney Niko Boulieris led the prosecution.
Julio Martinez-Perez, aged 36 from Mexico, received a sentence of 57 months imprisonment with three years of supervised release after being found guilty of conspiracy to distribute heroin prior to his deportation in 2016 and subsequent arrest for aggravated trafficking of fentanyl and heroin in Tulsa County in 2022. Assistant U.S. Attorney Augustus Forster prosecuted this case.
Santiago Lopez Gonzalez, a Mexican national aged 43, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release for unlawful reentry after arrests on various charges including possession of a controlled drug revealed his illegal status and past deportations on three occasions. Mandy Mackenzie served as the prosecuting attorney.
Alexander Enemias Ortiz-Gonzalez from Guatemala pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry at age 23 and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment with one year of supervised release following an arrest for driving under the influence that uncovered an active warrant against him in Minnesota as well as a previous deportation order from earlier this year (2023). Augustus Forster also prosecuted this case.
All defendants did not seek permission or receive consent from the Secretary of Homeland Security before attempting re-entry into the United States again; they are expected to face removal proceedings post-sentencing according to official records reviewed during investigations conducted by U.S Immigration Customs Enforcement Removal Operations teams across these cases.
