Thread: Last of Latino nationals charged in business raid sentenced

Last of Latino nationals charged in business raid sentenced

• By Robert Moore Tribune Staff Writer

• Jan 10, 2019 Updated 24 min ago

The last of the 10 Latino foreign nationals charged with federal crimes following the April 2018 IRS-led raid of Southeastern Provision, a Grainger County slaughterhouse, was sentenced to prison in U.S. District Court in Greeneville, and the straggler, Virgen Mendoza Perez, got the worst of it, according to court documents.

U.S. District Judge Ronnie Greer sentenced Perez, a 41-year-old Mexican national to 23 months – 15 months for illegally reentering the United States following a felony conviction for child abuse, and eight months for violating the terms of her restricted release related to a 2014 illegal-reentry prosecution after she was arrested in Morristown.

The owner of Southeastern Provision, James Brantley, has pleaded guilty to tax fraud, wire fraud and knowingly hiring illegal aliens. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 4.


At least 104 undocumented workers were taken into custody when the cattle slaughterhouse and meatpacking plant was raided, according to court documents. All but 10 were diverted into the civil deportation pathway.

Perez, who was also deported to Mexico in 2009, will get credit for the eight months she’s already served, which puts her release date somewhere around February 2020. Her prior felony conviction, which occurred in Florida, was child abuse, according to court documents.

Previously deported foreign nationals who were not sent home after serving time for felonies face far less time in federal custody

Such was the case with Angel Diaz Reyes, a Mexican national who was arrested in Morristown in July. Reyes, who also went by the name Abraham Meldonado, was sentenced to the five months he’s already served.

Another Mexican man, Jose Rolando Parra, was indicted for illegal reentry on Tuesday.

After he was taken into custody in Morristown on Dec. 31, it came to light he had been deported in June 2012, according to the indictment

Parra, who also went by the name Jose Rolando Parra Romero, has until Feb. 19 to negotiate a plea agreement.

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