Thread: Man, 61, faces third deportation after arrest

Man, 61, faces third deportation after arrest
MIKE SACCONE

A Mexican citizen who has been deported twice, including once after he was convicted of sexually assaulting a child, could be heading for this third deportation following a recent arrest in Montrose.

Saloman Renteria-Valdez, 61, was taken into federal custody in January after federal agents confirmed he had been arrested in connection with human trafficking and an assortment of other crimes since 1977.

According to a complaint filed in a Colorado federal court, Renteria-Valdez was arrested in late January in Montrose.

The FBI flagged Renteria-Valdez as illegally re-entering the country in mid-February when his fingerprints linked him to his previous convictions and deportations.

Renteria-Valdez was booked into Mesa County Jail on Monday.

According to federal court records, Renteria-Valdez was deported Feb. 12, 1979, following his conviction on human smuggling charges.

The affidavit also shows he was deported Aug. 30, 1996, after he was convicted of molesting a child.

Renteria-Valdez’s criminal complaint shows he has been convicted of a plethora of crimes over the past three decades, including robbery, human smuggling and possession of illegal drugs.

Federal court records also show Renteria-Valdez was arrested in July 2001 in Montrose on suspicion of being an intoxicated pedestrian in a roadway.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement was not notified and no removal proceeding (sic) were initiated,â€

Renteria headed to federal prison
August 23, 2008
By Katharhynn Heidelberg
Daily Press Senior Writer

DENVER — An illegal immigrant arrested in Montrose in March was sentenced Thursday to nearly four years in prison for aggravated unlawful re-entry.

Saloman Renteria-Valdez, 61, was arrested on a federal warrant here in March by the Seventh Judicial District Meth/Drug Task Force. The task force said at the time it had been investigating Renteria-Valdez for possible cocaine distribution — and alleged finding cocaine on his person — but local charges relating to that were not filed.

Renteria-Valdez was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on suspicion of aggravated re-entry. He pleaded guilty May 9, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

A task force agent had recognized him in January as the same man who was arrested in 2001 by the Montrose County Sheriff’s Office for a public intoxication offense.

Federal authorities used Renteria-Valdez’s fingerprints from that arrest to match him up with his criminal record, and issued a warrant in February.

Renteria-Valdez was convicted in 1977 of alien smuggling and was busted again for it within months of serving his sentence. According to his arrest warrant, Renteria-Valdez was arrested again in 1982 for allegedly guiding three illegal immigrants across the border.

He was deported in 1996 for aggravated felony convictions, including, according to his warrant, transportation of drugs, attempted robbery, possession of drugs for sale and, in 1995 the offense of “annoy/molest childrenâ€