Reported / Citable
SAN ANTONIO – Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 227 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from September 18 through September 24, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. Charges were brought against alien smugglers and illegal aliens with past convictions for child sex crimes, numerous DWIs, violent crimes, thefts, and numerous prior removals.
Among the new cases, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested an illegal alien from Honduras in Eagle Pass. Elvis Mancia-Almendarez was previously deported earlier this year, in January, through Harlingen. In January 2022, he was convicted of disorderly conduct in New York and sentenced to 15 days of confinement. The following month he was convicted again in New York for criminal sex act with a victim under 15 years old. For that, he was sentenced to three years of supervised release. Mancia-Almendarez, a convicted felon and sex offender, now faces an illegal re-entry charge in Del Rio.
Also in Del Rio, where federal prosecutors filed 100 immigration-related cases in the six-day period, Jose Flores-Dominguez , was arrested and charged with illegal re-entry. Flores-Dominguez is an illegal alien from Mexico who has been deported three times, as recently as July. Flores-Dominguez has a significant history of convictions that includes driving while intoxicated, two aggravated assaults with a weapon, and unlawful restraint.
Assistant U.S. attorneys in El Paso filed 104 immigration cases, including an illegal re-entry charge against Jorge Rivas-Mompie , an illegal alien from Cuba. Rivas-Mompie was arrested approximately two miles east of the Bridge of the Americas Port of Entry after being previously removed from the U.S. in January. A convicted felon, his criminal record includes aggravated rape and sexual assault, aggravated robbery, burglary of a habitation, and a second conviction for aggravated sexual assault that resulted in a 17-year prison sentence.
Juan Jose Pinon-Villagomez , an illegal alien from Mexico, was charged with illegal re-entry after he allegedly attempted to elude inspection from U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers (CBPO) at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry on Tuesday. A criminal complaint alleges a CBPO observed Pinon-Villagomez walking north toward the U.S. on the southbound pedestrian walkway and attempted to bypass the toll booth that is designed for pedestrian traffic. The CBPO was able to stop Pinon-Villagomez from entering further into the U.S. and Pinon-Villagomez was arrested. The illegal alien was previously deported in July through Alexandria, Louisiana. In 2018, he was sentenced to five years in prison for an offense involving the possession and use of a firearm. Prior to that, Pinon-Villagomez received convictions for entering the U.S. illegally, a DWI, and intoxication assault with a vehicle.
Miguel Hernandez-Sandoval , also an illegal alien from Mexico, was arrested in Austin and charged with illegal re-entry. Hernandez-Sandoval has been thrice removed from the U.S., the last time being in 2016 following his third DWI conviction. In addition to the three DWIs, Hernandez-Sandoval has been convicted of possession of a controlled substance and illegal re-entry to the U.S. by an alien.
These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including ICE, U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.
Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
These cases are part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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Source: U.S. Attorney’s Office — Western District of Texas — U.S. Department of Justice press release.