08/14/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/14/2024 12:14
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that BALTAZAR GARCIA-MENDOZA ("GARCIA"), age 33, was sentenced on August 7, 2024 to time served after previously pleading guilty to illegal reentry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a).
According to court documents, GARCIAwas encountered during a traffic stop on Interstate 10 in St. Tammany Parish on April 24, 2024, after being previously deported on February 3, 2014.
GARCIA was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Sarah S. Vance to time served, which was over three months. GARCIA had no previous criminal history.
Database checks indicated that GARCIA reentered the United States without permission, inspection, or parole by an immigration officer and without the express consent of the United States Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security for readmission to the United States and, was encountered in the Eastern District of Louisiana by law enforcement.
U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Customs and Border Protection in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Jon M. Maestri of the General Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.
Shane M. Jones
Public Information Officer
United States Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Louisiana
United States Department of Justice