Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JOSE GUADALUPE CASTILLO LARA, also known as Jose Castillo, Jose Latta, Francisco Rodriguez, and Jose Ruiz, 41, a citizen of Mexico, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford federal court to illegally reentering the United States after being deported.
According to court documents, Castillo previously was deported from the U.S. to Mexico in April 2009 following a felony conviction in Texas for assault. He reentered the U.S. shortly thereafter and was encountered by law enforcement in Texas. On July 13, 2009, he was sentenced to two years of imprisonment for violating the terms of his probation from his assault conviction. He was again removed to Mexico in June 2010.
On Nov. 17, 2018, Castillo was arrested by Stamford Police. On March 6, 2019, a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment charging him with reentry of a removed alien. On March 7, 2019, Castillo was convicted in state court of disorderly conduct related to his November 2018 arrest, and he was released from state custody. He remained at large until March 17, 2023, when he was apprehended in Massachusetts.
Judge Shea scheduled sentencing for Aug. 3, 2023, at which time Castillo faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
This matter is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Casey.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys