Deported Agriprocessors worker pleads guilty re-entering U.S.

1 minutes ago • By Courier Staff

WATERLOO, Iowa --- A former Agriprocessors worker who was removed from the country in 2008 has pleaded to illegally re-entering the United States and possessing ammunition.

Armando Ramiro Garcia-Arenales, 30, a Guatemalan native recently living in Waterloo, pleaded to one count of illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation by felon and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon and illegal alien during a Thursday appearance in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids.

Waterloo police arrested Garcia on March 1 during a traffic stop. A search of his car uncovered numerous rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Garcia had previously been convicted in 2005 in Clayton County for delivery of cocaine and possession of cocaine with intent to deliver.

On March 13, officers from the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement determined that Garcia had previously been deported in October 2008. He had been arrested in the May 2008 immigration raid at Agriprocessors in Postville.

He was convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for use of a fraudulent alien registration card. He was ordered to be removed from the United States.

Sentencing on the new charge will be at a later date. Garcia remains in custody of the United States Marshal until then.

He faces up to 20 years in prison on the illegal re-entry charge and 10 years on the ammunition charge, a $500,000 fine, $200 in special assessments, and six years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

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