HARRISBURG –The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on April 6, 2022, five previously deported aliens were indicted separately by a federal grand jury for illegal reentry into the United States. These matters arose in counties throughout the district including Franklin, Luzerne, Lackawanna, and York Counties.
According to United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Luis Zavala-Cruz a/k/a Jose Luis Zavala-Palacios, age 49, was previously deported from the United States to Mexico in March 2010. He is alleged to have illegally reentered the United States again sometime after March 2010. He was found in the United States in York County, Pennsylvania, after an October 6, 2021, arrest which eventually led to an accident – damage to vehicle/property conviction.
Maynor Garcia-Gomez, age 27, was previously deported from the United States to Guatemala in May 2019. He is alleged to have illegally reentered the United States again sometime after May 2019. He was found in the United States in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, after being involved in a vehicle accident and charged with Driving Under the Influence.
Jose Melendez, age 34, was previously deported from the United States to Honduras in March 2019. He is alleged to have illegally reentered the United States again sometime after March 2019. He was found in the United States in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, after a March 18, 2022, arrest by the Carbondale City Police on charges of endangering the welfare of a child.
Darwin Alexis Pasos-Santos, age 32, was removed from the United States to Honduras in August 2014. He is alleged to have illegally reentered the United States at some point after August 2014 after eluding examination or inspection by immigration officers. He was found in the United States in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania on March 26, 2022, after having been arrested for driving under the influence.
Lazar Sava a/k/a Adrian Sandu, age 35, of Romania, departed the United States while an order of deportation was outstanding against him. He is alleged to have illegally reentered the United States. He was found in the United States in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania on April 26, 2019, after having been arrested in Maryland and extradited to Pennsylvania due to numerous active warrants for theft related offenses.
Zavala-Cruz, Garcia-Gomez, Melendez, Pasos-Santos and Sava all face a maximum penalty of 2 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.
These matters were investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) and are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joanne M. Sanderson.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
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