PECOS – On Tuesday, a Mexican national was sentenced to a total of 60 months in prison for unlawfully re-entering the United States after previously being removed by immigration authorities.
According to court documents, Efrain Gonzalez-Pargas, aka Efrain Gonzalez-Vargas, 39, of Zacatecas, Mexico, was found near Big Bend National Park on August 24, 2021. Gonzalez admitted to Border Patrol Agents that he had entered the United States illegally by wading across the Rio Grande River.
On October 12, 2021, Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of illegal re-entry into the United States in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326. Gonzalez had previously been sentenced to eight months in prison for the same offense in October 2020. Gonzalez was deported and removed from the United States by immigration authorities after that conviction.
U.S. District Judge David Counts ordered Gonzalez to serve 46 months in prison for the current case and another 14 months in prison for violating his supervised release for the 2020 case for a total of 60 months in prison.
At the sentencing hearing, evidence was presented that Gonzalez had a previous conviction in California for battery with serious bodily injury.
Gonzalez has remained in federal custody since his arrest on August 24, 2021.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff of the Western District of Texas and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho made the announcement.
HSI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Weber and Scott V. Greenbaum prosecuted the case.
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